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of Sfhrt; ot-f7iePeimYinEm]iiir: Belly and 17u^7is ofBtyV' 
or thf Omuui EtrqUre.Ze^s oflivn and Hetjtart rrvn a^^ 



/m?'f Clai/,ortheRoman Emjtire: Dmi} Ch^- ^ 



a>"i. 



Part J„ FfJffe 



-^o. 



J^^ SKETCHES 

OF 

UNIVERSAL HISTORY, 

SACRED AND PROFANE, 

FROM THE 

CREATION OF THE WORLD, TO THE YEAR 1818, 
OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA : 

IN THREE PARTS. 
WITH 

AN APPENDIX, 

AND 
A CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS, 

BY FREDERICIC BUTLER, A. M. 

AflTTHOR OF THE CATECHETICAL COMPEND OF GEKERAL HISTORY. 

THIRD EDITION, CORRECTED BY THE AUTHOR, 



HARTFORD, 
OLIVER D. COOltE. 

1821. 






DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT, ss. 
^. S.) BE IT REMEMBERED, That on tlie third day of Novem- 
ber, in the fort)'^-third year of the independence of the United States of 
America, Cooke & Hale, of the*said district, have deposited in this 
office the title of a Book, the right whereof they claim as proprietors, 
in the words following, to wit : — " Sketches of Universal History, 
Sacred and Profane, from the Creation of the World, to the year 1818, 
of the Christian Era : in three parts, with an Appendix, and a Chro- 
nological table of contents. By Frederick Butler, A. M. author of the 
Catechetical Compend of General History," in conformity to the act 
of the Congress of the United States, entitled, " An act for the en- 
couragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts and 
Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times 
therein meniioned." 

R. I. INGERSOLL, 
Clerk of the District of Connecticut. 
A true copy of Record, examined and sealed by me, 

R. 1. INGERSOLL, 
Clerk of the District of Conneeticv.i. 






THE LIBRARY I 
01 CONGRESS I 

WASHINGTON 



PREFACE. 



WTO shew that one supreme, cronipotent, eternal God created the iinivers';, that hi3 
superintending providence preserves and ;^overns all thiols ; that his wisdom regu- 
lates and controls all events ; that the smallest as well as the largest are equally the 
objects of his care ; that " not a sparrow falleth to the ground without his Notice, 
and even the hairs of our heads are alUiiimbered," is the great object of this work — 
but noore particularly of (he first part. ^ 

• To accomplish this object with ihe most forcible demonstration I have shewn the 
, great designs of God in the government of men, by unfolding a succession of prophe- 
cies, by s^'hich he announced a grand succession of events, from the fall of man down 
to this day, and to the t^nd of the world, 

'i'o enfJjrce conviction, I have recorded a narrative of the most important events 
which have fulfilled these prophecies, in regular succession, from the first promise of 
God to Adam, down to this day, as they stand recorded by the most approved histori- 
ans. In thi.s narrative it clearly appears, that all the historians, through all ages of 
the world, have done no more than record the will and srovernment of God, as predic- 
ted by his inspired prophets, hundreds and thousands of years before they were ac- 
complished 

To render the design of this narrative as clear and forcible as possible I have not 
only confined it to tho.^e nations "who were the immediate subjects of the prophecies, 
but to such parts of their hittory a- immediately regard the accomplishment of these 
great events That part of the 'history of the four great empires, noticed in the great 
image of IVebuchadnezzar and Daniel's four beasts, as regards thuir governments, 
laws, manners and customs, together with a sketch of the history of the othtjr great 
kingdoms and empires not immediately connected with the proptiecies, I have noticed 
separately bv way of Appendix. 

All prophecy was given by inspiration of God, and all ancient prophecy through the 
prophets of the ancient .Jewish iMiiirch, which sprang from the family of Abraham, 
and regarded those nations only which were connected with the .Jewish hi'itory. This 
wa.-. ail that was necessary. — both in its extent and duration— to shew that the gov- 
ernment of God is both universal and eternal 

The history of the other great nations is of importance to be known and studied, as 
ancient monumenls of wisdom, virtue, patience, fortitude, industry, arts and arms — 
and their syjtemsa:d maxims of government have proved useful and impomant models 
to after ages ; have led to the improvements of the age in which we !iv-e, and to the 
perfection of that well balanced systemof government which we enjoy. 

The luxury and corruptions which followed all the great conquests ; the prostration 
of the virtues by tho-^e very corruptions, and the general licentiousness which followed 
in their train, togeth.-r with factions, discord, weakness and ruin, whichever closed 
the political scene, ought to serve as so many beaeons, to guide us and all after ages, 
in the way of wisdom, virtue, and duty, and to guard us against the calamities of li- 
centious ambition, which have invariably proved their ruin 

The economy of the governments of the Assyrian , Chaldean, Median' and Persian 
Monarchies, are very partially known tons — Ihey were not only absolute monarchies, 
but from the rude and barbarous ages in which they were founded, we have reason to 
coiK-1'ide their systems were very limited, and that the whole depended very much 
upon the will of the king, with this exception, that the king could not change even 
bis own will when pn<;e U became a law. 

The union of all these kingdoms stood upon the same basis, under the Medo-Persian 
Empire. This system was -ufficient to protect a ii*inj state whilst virtue ruled, but 
Lad no powers to save a nation when sinking under licentiousness and corrupt ambi- 
tion 

All the renowned wisdom of the philosophers and legislators of Greece and Rome 
could do no more, with all their boasted svstemsof liberty. They in their turn all 
fell a prey to licention- ambition. The kin^'domof P'.gypt with all the boasted wisdoni 
jrad virtue of her ancient institutioag, fell a prey to all-conquering lust and ambition. 



^y- PREFACE. 

As we trace this great sabject through the two succeeding parts of this work, we 
shall find that all the kingdoms of Europe are under the same condermation, together 
with the Turkish Empire, whose broad basis stands upon the ruins of all the ancient 
states and empires. 

How far that true balance of power, which constitutes the basis of the English and 
American governments, may be able to control ambition, licentiousness and corrup- 
. tion, andjireserve the ^orcrnmonls and liberties of the nations ; remains to be tested 
by experience. 

In the first part of this work I have endeavoured to shew the happy and prosperous 
«tate of the Jews under their theocracy .and that their wretchedness commenced with 
thf^ir kinjly government, in connection with their false religion I hat- e endeavoured 
to illustrate the character of the Grecian and Roman Republics, aoJ shew how a 
corrupt religion and a want of the trus balance of power in the third estate in the gov,- 
ernment ope.ied the way for factions, which proved their ruin 

In the serond part, I have endeavoured to shew how the overbearing- ambition of 
Ibe Roman E.mpire proved its own rniu, and hjw the distresses .she had inflicted upon 
other nations recoiled back upon her.self, until iujcury and refinement were swallowed 
"p and lost in ig-norance and barbarism— also, whil struggles men had to endure to rise 
out of barbari.sm into a state of civil refinernent. 

In the pursuit of this subject I have endeavoured to shew how mach the happiness 
and misery of men dapend upon individual character, and have illustrated this in the 
characters of Alfred the ^reat, contrasted with William I — ityled the conq:reror ; of 
Edward in. contrasted with Edward VI ; Q,ueen Elizabeth and Q,ueen Ann, con- 
trasted with James il. and Charles I. aud If. ^nd in this way have shewn how Eng- 
land emerged from the Feudal syst.-iai, and acquired -'he supremacy of the three es- 
tates in her government— the exc'eljeucy of this government I have endeavoured to 
shew, in the wonderful display of wisdom, order, happiness, peace and prosperity in 
the Arifierican Republic. 

In the third part I have enizwvjvei to shew the character of the republics of Po- 
land and of France, atd to render it plain and intelligible, that repyolics without the 
balance of power in the three estates, •'ooa become tae nurssriis of factioas, and that 
the licentiousness of liberty cherishes the strife of party, until some idol chief strips 
the people of their rights, and becomtis their despot. 

I have df*wn at full length the characters of Charles XII and B jnaparte, to illus- 
trate the more strikingly the worth of the character of Peter the Great of Russia, of 
Frederick the Great of Prussia, and Alexander the Great of Russia— but more imme- 
diately the true worth of Washington. 

It has been my firit object through the whole work to shew the inflaence and impar- 
lance of religion — to contrast the pure religion of the Jews with the idolatry of the 
ages in which tiiey maiotaiaed the purity of their church. To contrast particularly 
the religion of Christ and his Apostles, with the religion of the Popes and Mahomet ; 
And to shew that Martin Luther wa^the angel of the gospel for the age in which he 
lived, and will continue to be the angel of the gospel until the raillenial day, through 
'be iiiedium of the heralds of the cross, in the protestant cau.se. 

As this work is designe^d immsdiately for the use of schools, instructors may avail 
ihemselves of the chronological table of contents to frame questions for examioatitUr 
Jiiftriiction by leetures upon the maps, oroth'^rwise. 

Wetbersfield, Conn. Oct. 15, 18! P. • 



SKETCHES OF 

UNIVERSAL HISTORY 



PART FIRST. 



FROM THE CREATION,. TO THE SUBVERSION OF THE 
ROMAN EMPIRE, 145(X 



GHAP. I. 



History — its division's and use — -from the creation to the flood' 
— from thejlood to the building of Nineveh and Babylon, 

History is the great medium by which we are enabled to 
perpeiuate the occurrence of events — and through which we 
may take a retrospective view of those that are past. 

It may be divided into four great parts, history before the 
flood, termed antediluvian ; history since the flood, tenncd 
postdiluvian r hjstory from ihe flood to Christ, termed ancient, 
and since Chri?t, termed modern history. All that is v»^ritten 
by the immediate inspiration of God, is termed Sricred ; such 
isjthe history of the bibhi : all other history comes under 
the ojeneral denomination of profane* 

It famishes a vast field of moral and religious instruction, 
and i'5 designed to ama- e the imagination, irapro' i; the iind.er; 
stan'iing, correct the judgment, and mend the heart by leadinii; 
us up to God, as the great author, preserver and governor 
of all things. 

That which first claims our attentioo. in the annals of time, 
1 * 



u THE CREATION. 

is the history of the creation, as recorded by Moses in the 
book of Genesis. The most striking pirts of this narrative 
are ; the formation of the earth and heavenly bodies, the sun, 
moon, and stars innumerable, thatfill the vast expanse of hea- 
ven ; the creation of animate nature, with man for its head ; 
the covenant between man and his God ; man's violation of 
that covenant, which brought death into the world, and all our 
woe ; the early promise of God, that the seed of the woman 
should bruise the serpent's head, and that man should be re- 
stored to the lo?t favour of his God ; the expulsion of man 
from paradise, the seat of innocence and bliss on earth; and 
the curse which was denounced by God, "in the sweat of 
thy face shalt thou eat bread." 

These are the great outlines of that apostacy, which has 
bpen the origin of all the distress and wretchedness, which 
have been the inseparable companions of man, through the 
subsequent ages of the -world. 

Driven from the presence of his God, man was left, un- 
protected by his own innocence or his covenant with his Ma- 
ker ; weak, corrupt, depraved, to depend henceforth upon 
his own efforts ; not in the garden of E.len, but in the wild 
uncultivated earth ; which also was nnder the curse, for the 
disobedience of man— for God had said, " cursed is the ground 
for thy sake, in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy 
life : thorns also, and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and 
thou shalt eat the herb of the field, till thou return unto the 
gro-ind : for dust thou art,-^md unto du^::t shalt thou return." 

Here is the origin of the calamities of man ; and his whole 
history from that time to this, is nothing more than a detail 
of the events, which hai'e arisen in consequence of the awful 
denunciations of heaven. Thus left to himself; this image 
of God, this child of bliss, this favored of heaven, began the 
employment of husbandry, upon this wide, solitary, uncuhi- 
vated earth. Alas, hovv changed ! Should I attempt to paint 
the contrast, bet'.veen this and his former state, imagination 
would fail, language would be inadequate. 

Our task now is, to trace him through all the mazes of sin 
and error, wr?tchedn(iss and woe, in which he has wandered 
these rix thousand years ; and notice the displays of divine 
kindness, compassion, and b-enevolence, towards him. 

Husbandry being the fir-t employment of man, the early 
state of society was such as is common to the tirst settlement 



THE DELUGE. 7 

of all new countries ; apart from the protection of the laws 
for the security of the rights of person, and property: in 
this respect, they were in a state of nature. Although they 
retained so much reverence for God, as to express some de- 
gree of worship, by SHcritice ; yet when Cain rose u[) against 
his brother and slew him, there was no avenger of blood : 
God himself denounced judgment upon Cain, and inflicted 
the punishment. Nothing ^'.ppears on record to shew that 
this was not the wretched state of man, for the space of 1636 
years down to the flood. 

If vvie examine the state of those nations since the flood, 
which have had lo commerce, cities, or intercourse with com- 
mercial nations ; we shall most probably, have a picture of 
man, from the creation to the flood. When the earth was 
full of violence, and man had filled up the measure of hi? in- 
iquity, God came out in judgment again-^t him. He ordered- 
Noah to baild an ark, and collect hi? little family of eight' 
persons, with pairs of all kinds of animals, both birds, beasts 
and creeping things, and secure tliem from the overwhelming 
destruction, he was about to bring upon a guilty world. 

When Noah had obeyed the command of God, and given 
warning to a profligate world, he entered into the ark. The 
tempest was poured out from heaven forty days and forty 
nights : the deluge covered the face of the whole earth, even 
the highest mountains ; and the whole family of man, to- 
gether with all flesh, were swept ofl" the earth, except Noah 
and his family : these were preserved as God had a[>poiuted. 
At the end of one year, the waters were dried up, and the 
ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat, in Asia, near the 
source of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris ; on which man 
was first created, and from whence God first began to peo- 
ple the earth. 

Here a new scene was opened ,• here Noah reared an altar, 
and returned thanks to God. Here agnin began the employ- 
ment of husbandry. The corruptiotis also of man were re- 
newed. Here, Noah [)lanted a vineyard, and drank to ex- 
cess of the fruit of the vine. Here re-commenced the s-ame 
state of society with which Noah had been conversant before 
the flood. 

Men led the same wandering pastoral lives ; they were 
shepherds and hunters, f:)r the space of 130 years; they 
then assembled in the plains of Shinar, where tiiey buijt the 
impious Tower of Babel. This work was of the greatest 



H NINEVEH AND BABYLON, 

magnitude, of any that had been atteinpted since the flood. 
At this, they v.roiight uncheck^^d forty years, when God in 
judgment, suffered them to go no farther, but put an end to 
their work by coiifjunding their speech. 

Here wai the origin of the confusion Oi tongues, from 
whence arose all the variety of language, which has appeared 
upon the earth. Here Nimrod, who was a mighty hunter be- 
fore the Lord, laid trie foundations of the renowned city of 
Babylon, in the year of the v/orid 1771. This city stood at 
the confluence of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris : was wall- 
ed in the year 1780, and became the famous capital of the 
Chaldean Monarchy. About the year 1770, Ninus .built 
Nineveh, the subsequent cajutal of th»*; Assyrian Monarchy. 
During this period, of about 1800 years, the employment of 
men, and the state of society, had probably continued the 
same. 

These two great cities soon acquired a degree of wealth, in- 
fluence and power, which produced the same eff"ects upon so- 
ciety and the world, as have been witnessed, in the history 
of all the great cities which have appeared : the same change 
of manners, habits and customs : the ferocity, barbarity and 
tincultivatvid state of the hunter^ and shepherds, began to re- 
ceive a polish and reiinement, by their intercourse with the 
city. The same lust of pleasure, wealth and power, began to 
appear. Each, in their turn, extended their conquests over 
the neighboring countries, until they gave law to all the eas- 
tern world. During this whole period, men were without 
the knowledge of God, and were sunk in thamost barbarous 
and absurd idolatrv. 



CHAP. n. 



From the call of Abraham and his family, to the death of Jo- 
seph his Great-Gramlson in Egypt* 

About 417 years after the flood, God saw the corruption 
of all that eastern world ; and that they had !o-;t the knowl- 
edge aad worship of the true G^^d. He then called Abraham 
from Vr of the Cbaldees, near the plains of Shinar ; and di- 
rected him to go out into a wild uncultivHted desert, lying to 
the westj near the borders of the Mediterranean sea, and 



THE CALL Ol<* ABKAHAil. » 

there settle. Abraham obeyed the command, went out into 
this remote land ; by permission, took with him Lot, his bro- 
ther's son, and formed a new settlement. 

Here God began to make a new display of himself to Abra- 
ham and to the world. Here he unfolded his promises to 
Abraham. 1st. That he would give to him and his posteri- 
j^tp the land, when as yet he had no children. 2d. That his 
se«d should sojourn in a strange land ; be evil treated 400 
years, and then be restored to their own land. He gave him 
a son, in a miraculous manner : and although he was the 
heir of. promise, God ordered him to sacrifice the lad. 
When he had so fir obeyed the command, as to er^ct the 
altar, and raise the knife for execution ; the voice of God 
exclaimed ; " Lay not thine hand upon the lad." And 
Abraham caught a ram in the thicket and sacrificed it to the 
Lord. 

Thus having tried the faith of Abraham, abolished through 
him the ancient custom of human sacrifice, which was com- 
mon in the land of his fathers ; and having taught his people 
in all generations of the world, although he slay them to trust 
in him ; he prospered Abraham greatly in the land, gave 
him flocks and herds, and made him lord of great possessions. 

When Isaac, the child of promise was born, Abraham drove 
out Hagar his maid, with Ishmael her son, to wander in the 
desert : that Ishmael, upon whom the angel had pronounced 
this prophecy before he was born, that " he should be a wild 
man, his hand should be against every man, and every man's 
against him, and yet he should dwell in the presence of all 
his brethren" — that Ishmael, for whose sake God gave this 
consolation to Hagar his mother, in her distress in the desert. 
•' Take the lad in thine hand, for 1 will make of him a great 
nation.'' Isfimael and Hagar his mothtir, went out according- 
ly ; and in him, and his posterity, the prophecy has been lit- 
erally accomplished. The Arabs are a thieving, robbing, 
plundering race to this day, and have never been conquered. 

When Isaac arrived at the age of manhood. Abraham 
sent out his servant to the land of his fathers, and took for 
him Rebecca, his brother's daughter to wife, by tl^ special 
direction of God. By her he had two sons, Esau and Jacob. 
Abraham lived to a good old age, died, and was buried in 
his own tomb, which he bought of Ephron the Hittite, for a 
family sepulchre. Esau married one of the daughters of the 




10 ISAAC, JACOB AND JOSEPH. 

land, and united the employnnient of hunting with that of 
husbandry ; but Jacob bee ime a hu-bandman, ai;(^ kept his 
father's flocks. To Esau were born .«ons and daughters ; 
and to Jacob twelve sons, who became heads of the twelve 
tribes of Israel. 

Tiie history of Esau and Jacob, is recorded in the book of 
>Genesis. There also is recorded the art of Rebecca, to ob-. 
tain the blessing for Jacob her favourite son, in exciusiosk-of 
the rig tf il heir ; the death and sepulture of good old Isaac, 
and the strife and bitterness of E-au against Jacob.' As 
Jacob increased in his family and wealth, he increased in 
favor U'ith God ; and by wrestling with the angel, he obtained 
the blessing, with the name of Israel : also the mark of the 
withered thigh, by the hand of the angel ; which has ca';sed, 
the Hebrews, his desrendant^, to exclude the thigh of all 
animals, as improper food, to this day. 

When the twelve sons of Jacob or Israel, grew into life, 
their fatl-er cherished an unguarded partiality towards Jor-eph, 
one of the younger sons, which excited a jealousy and re- 
sentment, on the part of his brethren. This, together with 
some extraordinary dreams, which Joseph imprudently rv^la- 
ted, increased t'^eir resentment <o hatred, and malice, which 
led them to revenge upOM Joseph, by selling him to the Ish- 
maelites, (or Arab-) and to deceive his father by a false re- 
port that he had been devoured by wild beasts*; this they 
confirmed hy chfwing his bloody coat ; a barbarous strata- 
gem practised on their father, by dipping the coat in the 
blood of a kid. 

These Isf)maelites carried Joseph down into Egypt, where 
they sold him as a slave. Here an impious attempt was 
made upon his virtue, by bis m jsler's wife ; which, to her 
severe diappointment, and mortification, he resisted. This 
led her falsely to accuse him to nis master, who threw him 
into prison. God permitted these daring acts of outrage and 
cruelty, to shew, for our instruction, that he always can, and 
often does, bring the greatf'st blessings out of the heaviest 
afflictions, and to increase our confidence in him. 

H<:re, while immured in the wails of a prison, God open- 
ed the way for the deliverance of Joseph. When one of 
hisfello-v prisoners who was of the kin'g's household, related 
a singuhir dream, Joseph was instriicted by God in the in- 
terpretation — which was accomplished in a very extraordi- 



PHARAOH, JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 11 

nary manner. This came to the ears of the king, who soon 
had occasion to send for Joseph to interpret his own dream, 
ofthxt seven fat and «even lean kine.* 

This interpretation procured for Joseph the favor, and 
confidence of the king : raised him to power, and brought 
hirii near the throne. Wiien the seven years of famine, re- 
presotitcd by the seven lean kine, had extended into the land 
of Canaan, \vjiere the father of Joseph dwelt, he sent ten of 
his sons into Egypt to buy corn. 

The manner in which they were received ; the stratagem 
of Josrph, to punish them, and bring down his younger broth- 
er ; the second journey of his brethren, the severity of Jo- 
seph's treatment of them, the painful sensations of his own 
breast, the disclosure of himself to his brethren, his sending 
for his aged fither with all his houseliold, and supporting 
them in Egypt ; are all recorded in the close of the book of 
Genesis, in a striking and pathetic manner, not to "be ex- 
pressed by any other pen. This interesting narrative, so 
full of moral and religious instruction, should be familiar to 
ill, at an early age. 

When the fulness of time was come, that the good old Ja- 
;ob should be gathered, as a shock of corn fully ripe ; he re- 
membered the promise of God to his grandfather Abraham, 
:hat his posterity should sojourn in a strange land, and be 
5vil entreated 400 years : he called together his sons, and 
;ave them his prophetic blessing, t and charged them to con- 
cey his remains to the land of his fathers, and deposit them 
n the family tomb. 

This command was faithfully executed, with all that so- 
emnity and respect, due to the best of fathers ; and the fa- 
nily returned into Egypt, where they continued to increase 
md multiply, under all their former prosperity. 

Here again, the interesting determination of Divine provi- 
Jence is acknowledged. The dream of Joseph, which was 
10 offensive to his brethren, was accomplished. Their for- 
ner sin in selling him into Egypt,, now stared them in the 
ace : and they, fearing his power and vengeance, after the 
3eath of their father, fell prostrate before Joseph, and pour- 
;d out their confessions, and sought his protection. | 

Again, the meekness, gentleness and benevolence of Jo- 
seph were displayed : again he drew a veiloverthe wicked- 

* Gen. 41. + Gen. 49. t Gea. 50. 



12 JOSEPH AN^ HIS BRETHREN. 

ness of his brethren, ascribed all to God, and taught tliemto 
notice his special providence in their deliverance : again, he 
restored them to his favor, «cd lived to seethe third genera- 
tion of Be.^jamin, his beloved brother. And vvhen the full- 
ness of time ivas come, that he should be gathered to his fath- 
ers, he caJled his brethren and said — " I die, and God vrill 
surely viirit you and bring vou out of this land, to the land 
which he sware unto Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." And when 
he had taken their oath, that they would carry his bones witfe 
them, he fell asleep. 



CHAP. IIJ. 



From the death of Joseph to the call of Moses — the plagues in 
Egypt, the departure of the Hebrews, under Moses and 
Aaron, and the destruction of Pharaoh at the Red Sea. 

Here begins a new era in the history of the family of 
Abraham. The Patriarchs are gone ; Joseph is gone ; and 
their descendants are left unprotected in a strange land. God 
continued to increase and bless them, till a new king arose, 
who knew not Joseph. This king, unmindful of the protec- 
tion the kingdom had received in the time of the famine ; 
and fired with ambition, began to exercise despotic power, 
and oppress the people. 

WLen tiicy became numerous, fearing that his oppres?ion 
might excite them to revolt, he commanded all their male 
children to be destroyed at the birth : an art of cruelty and 
barbarity, not before recorded in the annuls of man. This 
order was executed, except in the instance of Mo«es, who 
was hid by his mother, in an ark of bulrushes, in the tiags of 
the river, where he was preserved by the special providence 
of Gf^d. The daughter of Pharaoh, in her walk discovered 
the child, and sent for a nurse, which, in the same provi- 
dence proved to be the child's mother. 

Nursed under the guardian care of the princess, Moses 
grew into life, and was educated in all the wisdom and sci- 
ence of the Egyptians ; and at the same time, was instructed 
by his mother, that he was an Hebrew, of the family of the 



COMMISSION OF MOSES. IS 

bondmen of the land. When he became a man, he weat in- 
to the field to vis5it his bretiiren ; and seeing an Egyptian of- 
fer to one of them violence and wrong, he slew him. When 
this act was known, Moses Rod into Midian, (a land on the 
east of Ejrypt,) where he married the daughter of Jethro, 
priest of Midian, and kept his fatlier's flocks. 

Here began tihe diplays of the majesty of Heaven ! Here 
the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob began to have com- 
passion on the distresses of his afflicted children in Egypt, 
Knowing that his prediction of 400 years of sojourning were 
nearly accomplished, here he appeared to Moses in the midst 
of a biirning bush ; and called and commissioned him. f oin 
the midst of ihat flame, which concealed the God, but con- 
sumed not the bush. 

Here he charged Moses to go into Egypt, and deliver his 
people : and jiermitted him to take with him Aaron his bro- 
ther. Here he confirmed the commission of Mos'es, by the 
special miracle, of turning his rod into a serpent; aiid pre- 
dicted the manner in which his people should, at their de- 
parture, spoil tiie Egyptians of their tr^^asures of gold |ind 
silver, as some coAjpensaUon for thair painful service. 

Empowered by this high commission, and the miraculous 
di«plays of divine power, Moses took with him Aaron, went 
down into Eiiypt, and stood before Pharaoh. When he had 
opened the comini^sion of heaven to the king, he received 
from Pharaoh thi* haughty reply, " Who is the Lord, that I 
should ohe}' his voice and let Israel go ? I will not let the 
people go." In reply to the insolence of this haughty king, 
Mojes cast down his rod, and it became a serpent. 

Then Pharaoh, to try the strength of this miracle, sent for 
his magicians and sofcfereVs, who cast down their i*ods and 
they became' ?er[)ents';' hut the serpent of Moses' rod swal- 
lowed up all theirs. This did not open the heart of the king, 
but contirmr'd him in Ins purpose fiot to let them go. Then 
God came out in judgment against Pharaoh, by the ten suc- 
cessive plagues which he caused Mo.-es to if flict upon the 
land of E'vpt, fire, blood and de;'th. (Exod. 8th and ^th ch.) 

in f^^^is auful manner the j'uigjr.eiits of heaven were dis- 
played, through this impious king, upon his guilty land : to 
inspire the Hebrews with that confidence in God, and in Mo- 
ses and Aaron, which should unite them in their departure. 
He caused Pharaoh, also to double the tasks of the Hebrews, 
that their oppressive bondage might constrain this union, and 

2 



14 DKSTllUiTION OF PHARAOH. 

that he might make such a display of himself and his judg- 
ments, as ehoiild lead Pharaoh, and the world, to acknow- 
ledge, that " the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." 

When God had putfjrth his hand and touched all the first 
bora of the land ; when every hou?e was filled with moiirn- 
ing, lamentation and wo : then the hard heart of this h sugh- 
t}^ king; was subdued. Then the prince and people were 
ready to drive out th hn\^lites. Here commenced the sol- 
emn festival of the Jewish piissover in commemoration of 
their wonderful deliverance ; which continues to this day in 
the Jewish Crnirch. Here was f ilHiled ine proriiise, that 
tliey should be enriched i'-ith t\\e sp'oils of the Egyptians, by 
their jewels of gold and of silver. 

Wheii all things ^vere now accomplished, this mighty host 
of 600,000 souls as-ori]hled under Moses and Aaron, and took 
up their departure for the land <>f their fai^ers — Here again, 
was a display of the seltishness and corruption of the human 
heart. Notwithstan lin^r all the manifestations God had made 
of himself t' Phaiaoh, and to the people, in the miracles he 
had wrought, and the judgments he had inflict.'d upon them : 
he r'pented that he had let tiie people go : raised an army, 
pursued Sev them by tt^e way of Pihahiroth, and overtooR 
them between Migdol, and the Red Sea, where God had or- 
dered them to en- aeip 

Here was the rlosingscene ! the waters of the sea, opened to 
thf right hand, and to the left, by tlie mighty power of the Most 
High ; and Moses led the host of Israel through on dry land. 
Pharaoh attempted to pursue, when the waters returned by 
the same Almighty power, with which they were rolled back : 
and this daring^, hardened, impious king, with all his mighty 
arfiw, were swallowed up and lost in the depths of the sea. 
At the same time, Moses assembled the host of h-rael, on the 
bank.^ of the sea, where they united in a song of praise to God 
their deliverer.* 



CHAP. IV. 



From the passage of the Bed Sea, to the giving of the Moral 
La-jo at Mount Sinai — the death of Moses and Aaron — the 



* Ex. xr. 



MORAL LAW 



possession of the land of Canaan, wider Joshua — and the 
change of government under their h 



:,ui(rs. 



Here let us reflect, upon the awfrj, sublime, and interest- 
injj scenes through which we have passed, from the creation 
to the flood ; from the flood to the call of Aoraham ; and 
from that call to the wonderful di^^plays of God in E rypt, 
and the Red Sea, and learn this le.^son : that when God calls 
sinners to repentance, by hi? counsel.*, warning?', invitations 
and chastenings ; and they, like Pharaoh, continue obstinate 
and impenitent ; he will come out again>t them in bis wrath, 
and SPid up their doom with his etern tl judgmer.t*. The les- 
son before us is a striking display of this solemn tr':tl. 

We will now pass over the several movements of the camp 
of Israel, until they pitch before Sinai Here again, the 
majtBsty of heaven was displayed in the thunders of Sinai, 
But notwithstanding the mountain was on fire from the pre- 
sence of God, when he called Moses, and conversed with 
him forty -days : notwithstanding he had led their w'.ole 
inarch, by a pillar of q|oud by day, and of tire by nigbt : yet 
even here, under the awful solemnities of Sinai, thi\v caused 
Aaron to make a goldon calf, (one of the gods of Egypt) of 
the same ear-rings which they had borro-^ed of t'leir neigh- 
bors ; and after the custom of the Egyptians, worshipped it, 
in a riotous, tumultuous manner. 

This was a scene which tried the pitience of Moses. Al- 
though he was the meekest of men, at the sight of this scene, 
he threw down the two tables of stone, on which were in- 
scribed by the finger of God, the Moral Law ; and br:ike 
them in pieces. He next dissolved the golden calf, ripmpel- 
led its wor-^hippers to drink it, and caused SiiOO idolaters to 
be slriin. He again, by the divine command ret'irned int-^* the 
mount, vhere he received two otiier tables of stone as be- 
fore ; which are the ten comman Iments (called the moral 
law) continueil in the .Jewish church, and handed down to us. 

We will pass over the mercies and judgments of God to 
this people,- in their several jr»un»eyings in the wilderness, 
until we come to the waters of Meribah, H^^re the murmur- 
ings and discont^^nt of this obstinate, ungrateful people, again 
tired the patience of Moses, and he gave t'^.atofl'ence to God, 
which deprived him and Aaro i of the enjoyment of the pro- 
mis^id land. Soon .ift/^r the offence at Meribah, G d called 
Aaron to seal up his last account. After Moses had led the 



16 CAPTURE OF JERICHO. 

people through the wilderness, God directed him to appoint 
Joshua his successor, and go up to the top of Pisgah, Where 
he could view the promised Iand,*iind there die. 

Full of instruction is the sacred book of God. If Moses, 
the favoured of heaven, was denounced and cut off for one 
unguarded offence, to what punishment does the whole fami- 
ly of man stand exposed every moment, from the offended 
majesty of heaven ! Learn also, that to whom much is given, 
of him much will be required ; and that every man must 
be accountable for what he hath, aiKl not for what he htjih 
not. 

We will now leave Moses entombed on mount Nebo, and 
follow the camp of Israel, under Joshua, to the river Jordan. 
Here Jehovah again displayed his mighty power, the river 
opened, as at the lied Sea, and gave t!iem passage. The 
first city that presented itself, was Jericho ; strongly walled 
and fortified. This intimidiited the murmuring, complaining, 
faithless multitude. And when they saw the hardy, warlike, 
gothic race of men which dwelt in the land, their hearts sunk 
within'them, and they were ready t(^ yield to fear. Again 
the hand of the Most High was stretched forth for their relief. 
By the special command of God, the walls of Jericho fell 
down at the blowing of rams' horns, by the priests, and the 
city fell an easy conquest to Joshua. This- event inspired 
the host of Israel with confidence ; and their enemies in 
their turn were depressed, and became an easy prey. 

Here end the 400 years sojourning, predicted by Abraham, 
and the 40 years wandering in the desert. Again, the fomi- 
\y of Jacob (or Israel) are restored to the promised land, a 
land !i>:>wing with milk and honey ; abounding with every 
thing delightful to the eye, and pleasing to the ta*te. 

It must not be understood that the whole family of Jacob, 
which came out of Egypt, returned to this land^^of promise. 
All who were over twenty years of age when they came out, 
were not permitted to carry with them, the corrupt and 
idolatrous practices of E2.ypt, (in which they had been 
educated,) into the land of Canaan. These all died in the 
wilderness ; but the youth, together with such as were born 
in the wilderness, were trainr^d up, by tb.e special displays of 
God's providence and goodness, to enjoy the promised in- 
heritance. 

When these had taken possession of the countr}', under 
Joshua, they divided up the land by tribes, side by side, as 



theUoited States are divided : esUblishcd their governraent, 
which was a pure Theocracy : the moral law, together with 
their ritual, forning their constitution, and God bein^ their 
head. U'lder this form of government, they coritinueti 350 
years : aud had they been content with their condition, they 
might have been the happiest people on earth. 

But they, like Jeshurun, waxed ilit and kicked ; the voice 
of murmur and discontent, continued to rise up to heaven 
against them ; they lasted after the idol^ and corruptions, of 
the neighbouring nations ; and had not the same power, 
which brought them into the land, been exerted in protecting 
them from the corruptions of tneir own hearts, and the -word 
of their enemies, they would soon have fdlen a prey to them, 
and returned back to the idolatry of toe Chaldeans, their 
fathers. The promises of God are sure ; fixed and unalter- 
able are his purposes. Although he somelimes gives up his 
people to the indulgence of their evil propensities ; he al 
ways makes their trials subservient to his own glory., and 
their best good. 



REMARKS. 

We have now accompanied Abraham and his posterify-j 
from Chaldea to Canaan, to Egypt, thiough thf^ir sutiVringSj 
their deliverance, their journeying-s in the wild^'^iess, and 
their restoration to the larul which God sware unto Abraham, 
to givo to him and his, for a poss*ssion> when as yeihelad 
no child. We have, through the instrumentnlity of t'lis won- 
derful family, witnessed the manifestation of the kv;owledgs 
and character of the only true God, in the miraculous birth 
of I?riac, in th^} faith of Abraham at the sacrifice, in the ac^ 
complishment of tlie propiie. y upon I-ihmael, in the narni'ive 
of Joseph, in the disp! lys of God to Moses, in tise pi iii;ues of 
E;iypt, in the deliverance of the Hebrew? at the R."! Sea^ 
and the destruction of Pharaoh ; in thejourneyings of 600,000 
souls in a barren uncultivated desert, fed by the im uv iiale 
hand of God, with quails and manna froin heave:i ; a.' 1 with 
water io the same miraculous manner, fi-om the dry and 
flinty rock. 

We have also witnessed the displays of thcijmHJesty of Je* 
hovahj in giving the Moral Law at Mount JSinaij in toraiiug 



^S BEFECTIO.V OF THE TWELVE TRIBaS, 

his true church v.ith their service, together with the judges 
of Israel, upon the basis of this huv ; and finally, his leading 
the young stock, (after destroying all the old idolaters in the 
wilderness,) into the land which he had promised to their fath- 
ers, and in planting that church which he had not only form- 
ed, and nursed, by the special displays of his alniighty power 
and wisdom, by so many miracles, but which he delighted to 
honor with his special presence, guidance, and direction," and 
to preside over as its head, dehverer, and protector. "I 
am the Lord your God, who hath brought you out of the 
'land of Egypt, and <Mit of the house of bondage, to give unto 
you this goodly land, which I svvare unto your fathers, to 
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and to their seed after them ; a 
land flowing with milk and honey." 

Here in the midst of this renewed paradise of blessings, 
we are called to witness the high and distinguished privileges 
of that church, from whence issued the accompiishment of 
ail the promises to fallen and ruined man. 

The scenes of Eden were here renewed, every thing plea- 
sing to the eye, and delightful to the taste, in the richest pro- 
fusion, gladdened the iiearts of this favorad church ; the 
presence and counsels of God directed their steps, the wis- 
dom of God gave them understanding, and from his .special 
bounty their cup overflowed ivith blessings. 

But here too we are called to witness again the depravity 
of the heart of man, and say " itlj^ desperately wicked, who 
can know it :" even here this chosen church, this favored of 
heaven, amidst the satiety of enjoyment, renounced their 
God, and demanded a king, like the nations of the earth ; and 
God left them to the lusts of their hearts, and in his wrath 
gave them a king. 

This demand of God that he should give them a king, was 
a renunciation of God their king, and like the apostacy of 
paradise, laid the foundation for all their snfi'erings;, and pre- 
pared the way for all their subsequent calamities. 

They, like the first stock in paradise, fell, and entailed 
upon themselves and their posterity, many calamities, dis- 
tresses and judgments, and stmd as a living monument to all 
succfeding generations, of the exceeding folly of forsaking 
the Lord their God, 



BAVID AND SOLOMON. - l^ 

CHAP. V. 

Ghange of Jewish Theocracy to the government of their Kings 
— Dispersion of the Ten Tribes by Fsalmanazer — Remarks. 

When God's people were weary of his government, and 
asked a king, He granted their request, and gave them a 
'king in his wrath. Samuel the prophet of God, by divine 
permission, anointed Saul as their first king ; but God for 
his disobedience rejected him, and by the special dii^play of 
his power, appointed David the shepheid king, from whom 
sprang the Messiah. 

God appoints ail his means, suited to their special ends. 
By the sword of David, God established the defence and se- 
curity of his people. From him sprang Solomon, who in 
his vvisdorn erected the temple at Jerusalem, established the 
splendor of the temple worship, adorned and beautified the 
city, and placed the nation on the summit of renown. The 
lustre of the Jewish nation, shone conspicuous in his reign, 
throughout the world. 

When this illustrious king was called to sleep with his fath- 
ers, and his son Rehoboam had succeeded hir», he by one 
unguarded act, severed the nation, ten tribes against two. 
The exclamation of Jeroboam, '' To your tents, O Israel," 
establisfied Samaria, as the capital of the ten tribes, with 
Jeroboam foi: their king ; in opposition to Jerusalem, and the 
two tribes under Rehoboam. The divided strength of a 
family or nation, is a sure pledge of their weakness, to the 
first enemy who may be disposed to invade them. 

The truth of the remark was soon verified in this divided, 
fallen family. When the ten tribes had set up the calves of 
Dan and Bethel, and proclaimed '* these be thy Go-is, O Is- 
rael" — theu the God of tlieir fithers came out in judgment 
against them ; and sent Fsalmanazer king of Assyria, with 
a mighty army ; who overran their country, pillaged and 
razed their cities, and carried them all away captive to 
Nineveh, where they were swallowed up, and their name 
was blott^^d out from the list of nations. 

Muses naving foreseen, by the inspiration of God, the de- 
struction that should come upon his people, gave them sea- 
sonable warning.* In this adiiiouitiori, the sins which cau- 
sed ttiis calaoiity, together witn their dispersion, are clearly 

♦ Deut. iv. 28. 



so THE TEN TRIBES. , 

pointed out ; and as the same chapter, also promises their^ 
restoration, in the latter day? ; great search has been made 
for them, throughout the hai3itabl=; globe, but no traces of 
them have vet been found. 

By some, it has been conjectured, that they passed in a 
body, through the wilds of Asia, crossed Beering's Straits, 
onto the continent of America, and are to be found in our 
western Indians. The plausible grounds for this conjecture 
are, the similarity in their notions of the Supreme Being, 
their guttural language, together with some manners and cus- 
toms, and their division into tribes. 

Dr. Buchanan, in his Asiatic Researches, points out some 
features in the Affi^hans in A-ia, together with reports of tra- 
dition, that they are descendants of the ten tribes ; but he 
does not appear to att;ich much confidence to the conjecture. 
All the prophets are agreed in the restoration of this branch 
of the family of Israel, to the land of their fathers, in the 
latter uays. God will assuredly accomplish his promise ; 
but when, and in what manner, time alone can unfold. 
'^' Blessed is he that waiteth, and rometh to, the one thousand 
three hundred and thirty-five days." Daa. xii. 12. 

The tribe of Judah, together with the small remains of the 
tribe of Betijamin, who had escaped the p'lnishment of tie 
sword, which Goi! indicted upon tUem by the hnnds of their 
brethren, for their impiety and barbarity ; continued the 
temple worship at Jerusalem, und<;r a succession of kings, 
two hundred and fifty years ; then they filled up (he measure 
of their iniquities, by violating the sabbath and the sanctuary. 



THE FALL OF NINEVEH. 21 

CHAP. VI. 

Destruction of Nineveh — ConqueH of Kebuchndnezzar — Siege 
of Tyre — Conquest of Egypt — Captivity of the txi^o tribes — 
Displays of God in Babylon. 

About one hundred and fifty years after the conquest and 
captivity of thv^ ten tribe?, by Psalm.mazer king of iNineveh ; 
God raised up the Chaldeans, together with the Medes, (a 
nation on the east of Babylon, and not far remote,) to chas- 
tise the city of Nineveh for her idolatry and cruelty to his 
people. These mighty nations overran their kingdoni, laid 
waste their country, took the city of Nineveh, razed it to its 
foundation ; so that her place is not to be found, according to 
the predictions of Nahum. 

Thus fell great Nineveh, the pride of the east and the 
conqueror of the west, Avhose sword had drenched in blood 
the cities of Palestine, and ruined the ten tribes of the family 
of Israel. 

This conquest ofti^e kingdonn of Assyria, raised Babylon, 
and opened the way for all her future greatness She ex- 
tended her arnfis into the east, and harassed tiie Medes and 
Persians with distressing wars. She carried her arms into 
the west under Nebuchadnezzar, who overran all Asia Minor, 
entered Phenicia, and laid siege to the city of Tyre. This 
city then stood upon the main land, was the great naart of 
Asia with the west, and the richest city in the world. The 
siege of Tyre made a distinguirhed figure in this ex|)edition, 
and the conquest of this city cost Nebuchadnezzar a i-i-ge of 
two years. The distresses of this siege were such as had 
never been experienced ; and the Tyrians, by their firm and 
desperate resistance, caused the prediction of the prophet 
Ez^-^kiel to be fully verified, " every head shall be bald, and 
every shoulder pealed." '*'" 

When t])e Tyrians found all further resistance would be 
ineffectual, they removed their fimili^^s \\rn\ effects on to an 
island, about three fourths of a mile from their city ; here, by 
the assistance ofti.eir ships, they profected and secured their 
wealth against all further attempts from the conqiiemr, and 
laid the foundation of that city, which became so distinguish- 
ed in the siege of Alexander, under the nanie of modern Tyre. 

Nebuchadnezzar carried his arms into Egypt, which fell 
n easy prey to the conqueror ; with the spoils of Egypt he 



t^2 



DISPLAYS OF GOD. 



enriched his army, and they riotpd in the luxuries ofEgypt, | 
as a reward for their services at the siege of Tvre. 

From Ei^ypt, the conqueror carried hi« arms into Pales- 
tine, overran the connlry, l.iid wa?te the cities, and besieged 
Jerusalem. The distresses of thi.^ siege are as memorable 
as the siege of Tyre ; but the wretchedness of the Jews, 
surpassed all description. Wasted by the sword, famine and 
pestilence, those terrible judgments of heaverj, they fell a 
prey to the conqueror, who gave their city op to pillage, 
carried the remnant of the two tribes of Judah and B'^njamin, 
away to Babylon, with the spoils of their city and teaiple, 
and swept their country with the besom of destruction.* 

When Nebuchadnezzar had settled the conquest oft lie vvest, 
he returned to Bab} Ion with the spoils ot Asia Minor, Fhe- 
nicia, Ea^ypt, Syria and Pale-'line, together with the remnant 
of the family of Israel ; Zedekiah their king graced his 
train. 

With the spoils of the west, Nebuchadnezzar greatly en- 
riched and beautified his favorite city, Babylc-n ; then the 
scourge of the nations, and mistress of the earth, and rioted 
in the fruits of his conquests ; here the bondage of Es^ypt 
was again renewed, and the captive sons of Israel be:ame 
the servants of the king of Babylon, to convert the spoils of 
Jerusalem and the cities of the west, into the splendor and 
magnificence of Babylon. 

But the most dark and mysterious ways of God, are often 
the means of illustrating the wisdom, goodness and majesty of ' 
his character. 

Wheo Nebuchadnezzar had disposed of his spoils, a'ul 
trophies, he caused seven of the [)rinces of Judah to he se- 
lected, educated, and trained for the special service of his 
court. 

Here opens such a display of the power and maj'^^ty of 
God, by asucces^ion of dreams, virion-, mira'cles, judgmerjts, 
and proph-^cies, as astonished the kin^, the nation, and t'-ie 
world ; unfohled a succession of events which have employ- 
ed the pens of all iilstorians from that day to this, and will 
continue to employ them, to the great consummation of all 
things. 

That same family, who had been the instruments of the 
displays of the character of God in Egypt, in the wilderness, 

* Jer. xxxix. 



u 



PUNISHiMEN'T OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR. 



^id in Palestine, were now become the instruments to dis- 
^^:iy the character of the one true Gcd, to that same idola- 
trous nation from whence he had call(-d Abraham, more than 
one thousand ^'ears before. The wonderful di.^pl.i)'S of this 
Almighty power are faiti -fully recoriied in the whole bouk of 
^he great prophet Daniel, for the instruction and 'Onection 
if a profligate world. 

In the midrtof these scenes, God accomplished upon Ne- 
buchadnezzar the vision of ti)e tree, (see Dan. iv. 4, 18.) and 
when in the pride of his heart he was exulting in the magni- 
ficence of his fiv-irite city, saving, " 1? Jut this great Bab^ Ion 
which I have bnilt, for the honor of my majesty, and the 
glory of my kingdom," the tinger of God touched him, and 
he was deprived of h^s reason, driven from his ki-^rgdom, 
made to take up his abode with the beasts of the field, and 
did eat gra^? with the ox seven years. 

At the expiration of seven years God restored Nebuchad- 
nezzar to hi* understanding and his kingdom, and caused the 
humiliation of the king to praise him. Instead of saying, 
" Is not this great Bnbylon which I have built for the honor 
of my m ijesty," he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and blessed 
the most high God ; and praised and honored him that liveth 
for ever a>d ever, adding, '• none can stay his hand, neither 
may any say unto him whatdoest thou." 

In the variou=5 displays of his power in the family of Abra- 
ham, God had manifested to the world, why he called Abra- 
ham out of the land of Chaldea, into the v\ilderness of Ca- 
naan, inflicted on his posterity the bondage of Egypt, and 
led them through their turty years journeyings in the wilder- 
ness ; it »^asto efi'ect the establishment of his church in the 
land of their fathers. 

By those astonishing displays of his power, he made it 
mani.^estto the world, why he blotted out the ten tribes from 
the list of nations, and carried anay the remnant of the two 
tribes to Babylon, even tijat he might root out the idolatry of 
his church, and by his chvisti-seoients, and correctioas, lead 
them back to himself, and at the same time, through the in- 
strumentality of hi^ own children, magnify his name amongst 
the same idolatrous nations, from whence he had called 
Abraham ; extort this confession from Nebuchadnezzar, 
" that the God of the Hebrews is the only true God ;" and 
this decree of the king, '* that all nations and languages un- 



u 



24 * C/ON^UEST OF CYRUS. 

der the whole heaven, should honour the God of Daniel, ani^y 
all the pv-ople should serve him." 

Thus having accom|jlished his threefold purpose of bring- 
ing bis church by hi; corrections, to humility and obedienrp : 
maguifyini^ hi? name and his glory to Nebuchadnezzai 
his ;ii«'52;'i'ni, leaving on rerord these wonderful display 
the instr iction oC the world, to the latest senerations ; 
prep ired the way for the restoration of his people, anc t 
building of the city of Jerusalem.* 



^ CHAP. VII. 

Conquest of Cyrus — fall of Babylon — restoration of the Jews 
— expedition of Darius — of Xerxes — pass of Thermopylce, 

During the ^'.icpl.iys of divine power in Babylon, Nehu- 
chadi.zzir diad, ard was succeeded by his son, whose 
reign wat^ short, and next by Ids <yrand«on Belshazzar. Be- 
tween him art] Cyaxares king of the Medes, a war sprang 
up, in which Cyrus, king of the Persians, was engaged as an 
ally ; a battle v;'as soon f.>ught, in which the Babylonians 
were d^^.fe^ited, put to flight with great slaughter, and com- 
pelled to sue for peace. 

This Cyaxares was about to grant, whrn Cj^rus objected^ 
urging that now '.vas a favorable opportunity to ptmish the 
Babvlonians for their tyrani>y and cruelty ; and that if the 
kin^ would entru- 1 him vvith the command of his army, he 
would march to Babylon, and chastise that haugiity city. 
Cvaxar^s, admiring the spirit of this young hero, then twen- 
ty hve years of age, yielded to his request, and returned to 
his court in Media. 

Cyrus, who \ths called by name by the prophet Isaiah, 
two hundred years before he was born*5 when tljal prophet 
predicted the desiruction of Babylon,! v>?as now about to en- 
ter upon his commission, and ex' cute the decrees of heav- 
en against tliat city, who had enriched herself with the, 
spoils of nation-', who said in her heart, "I sit a queen, I 
amno widow, i shall see no sorrow," and knew not the judg- 

* I?aiah 43, U, 45. Jer. 23. Book of Ezra, 
t Isaiah 45 and 46. 



FALL OP BABVLGN. 



23 



ments God had in store for her, and which he had denounced 
against her ; and who, to till up the measare of her iniquities, 
then held the two tribes of Israel in bondage. 

Thus commissioned by God, and armed by his authority, 
Cyrus entered upon the plains of Shinar, and laid siege to 
Babylon. The Babylonians, unable to keep the field, had 
fled, and taken refuge within their wall^, where they felt 
themselves secure, with astore of provisions for twenty years. 

Cyrus invested the city so closely, that all conamnnicalioa 
from without was cut oif; he next prepared a canal, by which 
he could turn the waters of the Euphrates, into the Tigris, 
and thereby lay bare the chaanel of the river. During these 
operations, Belshazzar the king was rioting in his palace, 
with his wives, his concubines, and ail his court, and drinking 
wine with impious profanation, out of the sacred vessels, his 
grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had brought from the holy tem=" 
pie of Jerusalem. 

A man's hand appeared, and wrote upon the wall, over 
against the king, these words : Mene, tekel, upharsin ; the 
conscience oi the king upbraided him, his knees smote to- 
gether with feai. Daniel was called, who thus interpreted 
the "vriting : " thy days are numbered and finishe'd, thy king- 
dom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." 

1 he same night, amidst this impious festivity, the strata- 
gem of the canal was executed ; the river was drained, and 
Gyrus entered tiie city by an unguarded gate, on the side of 
the river, overturned all in his way, entered the palace, put 
the king and all his court to the sword, and made himself mas- 
ter of Babylon. 

Thus ft'll great Babylon, the pride and ornament of the 
Chaldean Monarchy, the mistress of the world, and the head 
of gold in the vision of Nebuchadnezzar ; and thus the em- 
pire of Media was established upon the ruins of the Chalde- 
an Monarchy. 

Cy.ixares, then an old man, and uncle to Cyrus, upon the 
?lde of his mother, soon died, and left the crown of Mediate 
Cyrus, as the rightful heir ; thus uniting the three kingdoms 
of Chaldea, Media and Persia in one, with Cyrus for its head. 

The first act of importance recorded of Cyrus, was his de- 
cree for the deliverance, and restoration of the Jews, to the 
land of their fathers. This decree was accomplished, with 
the necessary supplies for carrying it into execution ; the 
seventy years captivity was closed, and the remnant of the 

3 



vU EXPEDITION OF DARIUS. 

two tribes were restored to Jerusalem, to rebuild their citj, 
and temple under Zerubabel, and Ezra. See Ezra 1st chap- 
ter. 

Thas we are led again to see with what precision the de- 
crees of the Motst High are accomplished, "that he selteth 
up kings, and putteth down kings, and none can deliver out 
of his hand." 

Cyrus, thus seated upon the throne, of the Medo Persian 
.empire, (which became the breast and arms of silver in the 
image of Nebuchadnezzar,) was now the greatest monarch 
the world had ever known, he united the three kingdom* by 
wise and energetic Ia»As, ruled in wisdom, laid the founda- 
tions of that empire which became so conspicuous in suc- 
ceeding reigns, and died 529 years before Christ. 

We will pass over the successive reigns as uninteresting, 
until we come to the reign of Darius, father of Xerxes ; he 
was fired with the same ambition of his ancestors, raised a 
powerftil army, marched into the ^vest, crossed the Helles- 
pont, marched through Thrace, crossed the Danube, and 
coaimenced operations against the ancient Scythians of Eu- 
rope. These hardy sons of the forest, drew him into their 
wilds, by flying before him, laid waste their country, and ha- 
rassed him in his march, until he despaired of success, and 
attempted lo retire from the war ; the barbarians had suc- 
ceed-^d in their stratagem, they fell upon him with great fury, 
routed, dispersed and destroyid his army, and Darius return- 
ed a fugitive into Fe?-sia, where he died soon after, leaving 
his throne to his son Xerxes. He was the^prince of Persia 
described in Daniel's serif. tures of truth, as being far richer 
than all otliers, who should stir up all against the realm of 
Gr'?cia. 

Xerxes assembled a powerful army, amounting to five 
million souls, (according to Mr. Rollin.) marched into the 
west, crossed the Helle? j)ont, and invaded the states of Greece, 
then lying on the eastern borders of Europe, where Turkey 
in Europe now is.* 

Greece^ was then in its infimcy, divided into a number of 
small stat^ s, hordes, or clans, independent of each other, 
spenking the same language under a variety of dialects ; 
without union, without money, without allies, and unprepar- 
ed j even for any invasion. 

* Appendix., A 



EXPE®ITION 01* XERXES, 9.1 

When Xerxes appeared on their borders with his immense 
host, they began to confederate for common safety. In this, 
their first effort for defence, they were near being ruined in 
the choice of a general ; such was the jealousy of these rival 
sons of liberty. When they were united in this, Ihey were 
equally distressed in the choice of a commapsder for their 
fleet ; when they were agreed on this also, their numbers 
were so small as not to be put in competition with the whole 
eastern world, which was assembled against them. 

The powerful force of the king, and the defenceless situa- 
tion of Greece, inspired him with the highest confidence of 
success, he constructed a bridge of boats, passed the Helles- 
pont, entered upon the plains of Greece, and penetrated into 
the heart of their country, without opposition, until he ap- 
proached the pass of Thermopylae ; here he was met by Le- 
oflidas, with three hundred Spartans, who checked his prog- 
ress, and hpld at bay the whole force of Persia. 

When Leonidas had learnt that Xerxes was about to force 
his passage through the by-roads of the mountain, by the 
aid of a treacherous Greek, and thus enclose his little band, 
he assembled his three hundred Spartans, put bimselfat their 
head, marched through the defile, in dead of night, and, with 
sword in hand, rushed like a horrent upor^4iie Persian camp, 
overturning all in his course, until he had nearly reached 
the tent of the king; here, amidst the terrible conflict of car- 
nage and of death, he and all his followers fell a sacrifice to 
the swords of the Persians, except one, who was ever after 
treated by his countrymen, as a fugitive, and vagabond, be- 
cause he preferred life to glory. 

This daring and heroic assault, so intimidated the king, 
that he no longer considered himself safe in the midst of his 
legions, but betook himself to his fleet, as a place of more 
safety, and where he hoped much from a naval victory, be- 
cause it was superior to the Grecian, and left the coinrjand 
of his army with Mardonius, his principal general. Here the 
Greeks were ready to meet his wishes. The fleets met near 
Salamin, an action was fought, and a victory obtained, which 
ruined ttie Persian fleet. Xerxes escaped,' and fled into Per- 
sia, and his Queen, by a most masterly stratagem and ad- 
dress, secured her ship, and flight, and followed the king. 
They both retu.ned safe to Babylon. 

Mardonius, svith the host of Persia, moved with renewed 
©aution, until the Greeks forced him to a battle at Platea ; 



^O CIVIL WAR IN PERSIA. 

here followed a victory, as glorious on the land, as the for- 
mer had been on the sea. Mardonius was killed, and of 
three or four hundred thousand men, of the Persian army en- 
gaged, not more than three hundred escaped to return into 
Persia. Thus ended the greatest enterprize that had ever 
been attempted, with the greatest overthrow that had ever 
been witnessed. 

The Greeks thus secured from foreign invasion, were left 
to cultivate their soil^ improve the arts and sciences, extend 
theircommerce, and exert their military prowess, in their own 
private and domestic quarrels, the mostdistinguished of which 
was the Peloponesian war, which lasted twenty-five years. 

During these civil broils in Greece, a civil war sprang up 
in Persia: the younger Cyrus conspired against his brother 
Artaxerxes, who was upon the throne, passed over into 
Greece, levied a body of fifteen or twenty thousand troops, 
led them into Asia, where he was joined by a large body of 
Persians from the province over which he was governor; 
with this force he marched towards Babylon, to attack the 
king, who, apprized of the conspiracy, had assembled an ar- 
my, and gone forth to meet him. 

The two armies soon met ; a desperate action ensued ; the 
wing of the armyj m which the *tireeks-were posted, was vic- 
torious, the wing of the Persian army which engaged them, 
was routed and fled — the Greeks pursued. At the same time 
Cyrus, who commanded the. centre, discovered his brother 
Artaxerxes. at the head of his troops, and exclaimed " I see 
him," put spurs to his hor>e, rushed into the thickest of the 
battle, attended by his guards, and made a desperate assault 
upon his brother : here, engaged hand to hand, the two he- 
roes fought for the fate of the kingdom, when the stroke of a 
soldier struck Cyrus dead at the feet of his brother. A terri-. 
ble carnage ensued ; Cyrus' army was routed, and cut to 
pieces. The Greeks, who had pursued their victory too far 
were cut oif from the army, and obliged to trust to the valour 
of their own swords, for their safety and protection. Thus 
the insurrection of Cyrus was closed. 

Artaxerxes returned to Babylon, and left his principal gen- 
eral, to pursue, and destroy, the remains of thft Greeks. Ten 
thousand of the descendants of the heroes of Thermopylae, of 
Salamin, and Platea, vvere now left destitute of succour, in - 
the heart of Persia, either to deliver themselves up as cap- 
tives, and endure the whips and scorn, and mutilations of the 



IIJSE AND I ALL OF FIlILtP. ^3' 

Persians ; to fall a desperate sacrifice to their own valour, on 
the plains of Persia ; or make a desperate retreat into their 
own country. 

They chose the latter ; and this little phalanx, under 
Xenophon, their leader, retired in presence of the victorious 
army of Artaxerxes, into the northern provinces of Armenia 
and Georgia, and from thence over mountains and forests 
covered with snow, through the uncultivated wilds, and 
more uncultivated savage nations, all of them in arms ; in the 
presence of a pursuing army, until they reached the borders 
of the Black Sea. Here they embarked, and by a passage, 
not less perilous from the wintry blasts of the north winds, 
than from the swords of the barbarians, they landed safe 
near where B_yzantium then stood, (now Constantinople,) 
and passed safely to their own homes, to the inexpressible 
joy of their friends, and the astonishment of the world. 

During these adventures abroad, the Greeks continued to 
cultivate the arts, enlarge and embellish their cities, perfect 
the science of letters, and display to the world a succession 
of the greatest heroes, orators, statesmen and poets, together 
with the greatest masters in the fine arts, that have ever em- 
bellished the world ; until the great Philip, king of Macedon, 
arose. This prince, artful, subtle, and powerfil, aspired 
to the conquest of the states of Greece, and of the world. 

Philip matured his plans, by increasing his treasury, as^ 
sembling a strong military force, training his invincible Ma- 
cedonian phalanx, upon new and improved principles, and by 
lulling the neigboring states into security, by his orators, or 
by his gold. 

When he was about to strike the fatal blow, to the liber- 
ties of his country, he was killed at a public assembly, by 
the sword of a young Greek. " Thus fell Philip the ambi- 
tious ; and through his fall, the liberties of Greece were 
once more preserved. 

Alexander, the son and successor of Philip, upon his ac» 
cess to the throne of Macedon, found himself *iti possession 
of ail the vast preparations of his father, and being fired with 
the same ambition, he soon found opportunity to carry into 
effect all his plans. 

ALxander a.^semblp.d the same army which his father had 
trained — p. it himself at its head, and at a blow overthre^v 
the liberties of his country, and erected his standard in tri- 
umph over those states, which the gold of his father had 
3* 



^30 EXPEDITION OF ALEXAJfbfiRa 

lulled into security ; and when he had settled the govern- 
ment of his country, prepared to take vengeance on those 
haughty Persians, who had, with their legions, outraged the 
liberties of Greece. 

The eloquence of Demosthenes, the wisdom of Solon 
andLycurgus, and the boasted democracy of Greece, which 
taught, that liberty, valor, patriotism, industry, economy, and 
even frugalitv were the greatest virtues, had all fallen a sa- 
crifice to the despotic sword of Alexander ; and this young 
hero, of tweoty-five years of age, now rose up like a Co- 
1©8SU3 to bestride the world. 



CHAP. VIII. 

■Expedition of Alexander — Fall of the Persian Monarchy. 

Before we enter upon this extensive expedition, let us 
consult the sacred volume, and see what cooimission God 
had given Alexander, by the mouth of his prophets. 

During the reign of the impious Belshazzar king of Bab- 
ylon, who was slain at the conquest of Cyrus, we find the 
vision of Daniel the Prophet, of the ram and he-goat, as re- 
con^ed in the 8th chapter of Daniel. Impressed with the 
importance of this vision, and the interpretation, let us ac- 
company Alexander across the same arm of the sea, which 
Xerxes formerly crossed when he invaded Greece, on to the 
plains of Asia ; let us accompany liim to the bank of the 
Granicns ; (a small river of Asia Minor, which fails into the 
sea of Marmora,) here he was met by a numerous Persian 
army to oppose his march. 

As soon as Alexander approfiched the river in' view of the 
Persians, he lost not a moment, but plunged his horse into 
the river; the whole army followed ; the Persians disputed 
the passage with their whole force ; the action was desperate, 
and the victory decisive ; the Persians were routed and fled ; 
Aiexduder pursued, and their armj' was destroyed. This vic- 
tory, considering the time, place, and circumstances, maybe 
considered as a literal fulfilment of the vision of the Ram. 

The fruits of this victory opened an easy passage through 
Asia Minor ; and Alexander moved without further opposi- 
tion, until he met Daiius the Persian king, at the gass ©f Ci- 



StEGB OP TYRE. 31 

licia. Hereby a stratagem, he drew Darius into the narrovv 
defiles of the mountains, where numbers could not avail him, 
and by a desperate action, gained a decisive victory, took 
■ and dispersed his army, together with the queen, and house- 
hold of Darius, with all the treasure of his camp. Darius, 
with the shattered remains of his army, fled into Persia. 

Alexander, after having paid suitable honors, and render- 
ed proper testimonies of respect to the family of Darius, 
moved his army, by the way of the sea, into Phoenica, and 
laid siege to the city of Tyre. 

That city, which had been built from the ruins of ancient 
.Tyre, formerly taken by Nebuchadnezzar, now stood on an 
island, the seat of the vvealth, and commerce of the world. 
Here Alexander, like Nebuchadnezzar, met with desperate 
resistance, and a long and distressing siege ; which called 
forth all the talents of the conqueror, and all the energies of 
his army ; at length valour and perseverance prevailed, the 
city was carried by assault, and the riches of Tyre were conv 
vertod into instruments of fiture conquests. 

Alexander pursued iiis rout into Egypt, which fell an easy 
prey; here he enriched his army with the spoils of Egypt: 
caused him-elf to be worshijtped as the son of Jupiter Am- 
mon ; and batlt the city of Alexandria, which still bears his 
name. 

When he had settled the affairs of Euypt, Alexander re- 
turned into Asia, finished the conquest of Syria, and appear- 
ed before Jerusalem ; here the high priest came out to meet 
the cot:qneror, clad in all his royal vestments, attended by all 
his co!irt;, and attempted to prostrate himself before Alexan- 
der, and do him homage ; but Alexander forbade him, saving, 
that he had seen in a vision in his own country, a man of his 
characterand app arance, and he treated the high priest with 
great civility an(i i..- pect. 

When this ceremony was ended, the high priest conducted 
Alexander into the temple ; uofdded, and explained to him 
all the prophecies, relating to tlie conquest of Persia ; par- 
ticularly the vision of the ram and he-goat, Daniel'?! vision 
of the four beasts, and the dream of Neduchadnezzar's gr^-at 
image ; all which so impressed Alexander, that he was to be 
the cor,queror of Asia, that he took the Jews into his special 
favor, treated them with great respect and kindness, made 
them rich presents, gave them his blessing, and then pursued 
his march to Babylon. 



32 FAI-L OF PERSIA. 

Nothing of importance occurred, during his passage of the 
mountains, lying between Palestine and Babylon : when he 
came down upon the plains of Persia, he passed the Euphra- 
tes in quest of Darius, and came up with him posted upon 
the banks of the Tigris, surrounded by all his court, and at 
the head of all the vast armies of Persia, where he awaited 
the conqueror. 

Here opened anew the battle of theGranicus ; Alexander 
ordered the charge ; plunged into the river at the head of 
his army ; and encountered perils from the depth of the 
river and rapidity of the current, such as he had not before 
experienced, his army was broken by the stream, and thrown 
into disorder ; but all this he surmounted, gained the oppo- 
site bank amidst the darts of the Persians, drew up his ari»y, 
and commenced the attack. 

Darius was routed, his army cut to pieces and destroyed, 
and he himself fled into Armenia, (a province on the north,) 
where he was slain by Bessus, governor of Bactria. Alex- 
ander pursued and overtook Darius just in time to revenge 
the insult offered to fallen majesty, by causing Bessus to be 
mutilated and slain. He then returned, and marched to 
Babylon, which opened -her gates to the conqueror, and here 
he gave his army repose. 

Thus fell the kingdom of Persia ; which arose out of the 
kingdoms of Chaldea, Assyria, Media, Persia and the king- 
doms of the west, which were all united under Cyrus at the 
conquest of Babylon. Thus fell the head of gold, and the 
breast and arms of silver, in the great iraagp of Nebuchadnez- 
zar ; thus fell the 'lecond great beast in Dauiel's vision, and 
the kingdom of the belly, and thighs of brass was established 
upon their ruins under the dominion of the he-goat. 

Thus ended the kingdoms of Nebuchadnezzar and of Cy- 
rus, vrhich under the vision of the tree, grew and filled the 
whole earth, and thus was verified the denunciations oi the 
prophet ; " They that lead into captivity, shall go into ap- 
tivity ; they that kill with the sword, shall be killed \v»th 
the sword ;" such are the decrees of the Most High, who 
ruleth in the affairs of the kingdoms of men. 



GREEK EMPIRE ESTABLISHED. 33 

CHAP. IX. 

Alexander establishes the empire of the Greeks upon the ruins 
of the Persian — dies — division of the Grecian Empire — rise 
of the Roman Empire — of the Carthagenian — their rears- 
fall of Carthage — revolutions of the Roman Empire, 

When Alexander had reposed his army, and settled th«t 
government, he took his route through the eastern provinces, 
which fell an easy prey to the conqueror ; boilt cities after 
his own name, and settled their governments, until he arrived 
at the river Indus. He then turned aside, and followed its 
banks to the Ocean ; rejoiced his army once more with a 
view of the sea ; marched into the northern provinces, sub- 
dued them in succession, waged war with the Scythians, with 
great peril, and returned to Babylon ; established the gov- 
ernment of the Greeks upon the ruins of the Babylonian ; but 
preserved all the splendor, pomp, homage and ceremonies of 
the Persian court. Thus the vision was fulfilled. 

Alexander who had now become a Persian in the midst of 
his Greeks, gave great offence to those generals, whose val- 
our had led his brave troops to victory, and to conquest ; and 
they dared to express what their hearts so justly opposed ; 
Clytus, his friend who had saved his life, and Calietheoes the 
brave, fell a sacrifice to the unrestrained fury of the tyrant. 

That simplicity of manners, that had nursed that Grecian 
valor, which had hewn out the way to empire for this con- 
queror of the world, was now exchanged for Persian pomp 
and corruption, and the stern Greeks saw their king lost in 
sensuality. 

Having rioted in all the luxuries of eastern pomp, and ef- 
feminacy for six years, this he-goat of the west, this son of 
Jupiter Ammon ; this hero of the east ; this conqueror of 
the world ; fell a prey to his own licentiousness, and died as 
a fool dieth, in the excess of his cups. 

And now the scriptures of truth in the 11th chapter of Dan- 
iel were fulfilled : his kingdom was divided between his four 
principal generals, to the exclusion of his own family. Cas- 
sander, held Babylon and the provinces of the east ; Lysim- 
achus, held Thrace, with Greece and Asia Minor ; Seleucus, 
held Syria ; and Ptolemy held Egypt. 

The wars of the Seleucidae in Syria, between the Jews on 
the north, and the Ptolemies of E^ypt on the south, have so ex^ 



34 DEATH OP ALEXANDER. 

actly fulfilled the prophecies of this llth chapter of Daniel, 
that mRny have supposed they v^ere written Mfter tlie events ; 
particularly those which relate to the persecutions of the 
Jews ; their distresses under Antiochus Eniphanes, his dep- 
redations and massacres, together with the destruction of 
their temple ; his violation of the rights of their holy religion, 
in causing them to eat swine's flesh ; his profanation of their 
sanct^Kfry, in causingthemto offer it upon their altars to their 
GfTd. These sacrilegious cruelties have led many to suppose 
Antiochus to he the type, or forerunner of Antichrist. 

These scourges of the church of God, and of the world, 
continued their depredations down to the conquest of the Ro- 
mans, about sixty-five years before Christ. The wars be- 
tween the Syrians and Egyptians, were almost pf^rpetual ; 
and yet the descendants of Ishmanl, who inhabit Arabia, ly- 
ing partly between the two, dwelt quietly, and were not entan- 
gled in their wars, a fulfilment ofthe promise of God to hhmael. 

Since the call of Abraham, God has displayed himself to 
men, by thi majesty of his power and goodness, in planting 
and building up his church ; has rolled on one great event 
after another, chastising his own people for their idolatry, and 
backslidings ; and scourging their enemies for their corrup- 
tions, as well as their cruelties to his people, and church. 

We have witnessed the revolutions ofthe three great em- 
pires ofthe image of Nebuchadnezzar, and the three first 
beasts of Daniel's vision ; we have now come down to tlie 
fourth kingdom, as expressed by the leg? of iron in the image, 
and the fourth beast ofthe vision, strong exceedingly, with 
great iron teeth. 

Before we commence this part of our narrative, let us go 
back and examine the origin ofthe Romans, or fov:rth king- 
dom, and learn their character. 

In the yeir 1480 before Christ, was founded the city of 
Troy, upon the eastern borders of the sea, now called Archi- 
pelago, between the settlements in Asia Minor, and ancient 
Greece. Paris, son of Priam king of Troy, was grnlty of out- 
rage to a Grecian princess ; this kindled a war, and all Greece 
was in arms to revenge the iadignity. Troy was besieged 
by the Greeks, and at the end often years fell a sacrifice to 
their artful stratagems, and was razed to its foundations — 
blotted out from the list oCcities ai)d the Trojans from the 
list of nations. This war called into action the genius of 
Homer, the father of epic poetry, to celebrate the feats ©f 
arms at the siege of Trov. 



DIVISION OP THE GRECIAN EMPIRE. Zo 

A small colony sprung from the ruins of this renowned city, 
under ^neas their leader, passed into Ituly, aiu\ laid the 
foundations of the Roman «tute. In the year 753 before 
Christ, about the time of the dispersion of the ten tribes into 
Ninereh, and the east, Romulus who was then their chief, 
laid the foundations of the city of Rome. This little city, 
in the midst of a rude, savage country, grew np by incessant 
wars, at the expense of her neighbours, until it swallowed 
up all other kingdoms, and gave laws to the v*'orld.* 

Rome was checked and harassed in her progress by her 
great rival, Carthage, about four hundred years. 

Carthage sprang from ancient Tyre, by a colony, which, in 
the year 1259 before Christ, in the time of the judges of Is- 
rael, was led into Africa, by queen Dido. Her character 
was like that of the Tyrians, commercial, corrupt, avaricious 
and practising the idolairy of the ancient Assyrians and Pheni- 
cians, with the barbarous custom, or rite, of human sacrifice. 

The ambition of the Carthagenians, in their early ages, 
was carried in their wars, into Spain, Sicily, Rhodes and the 
isles of the sea. The Greeks were commercial, and checked 
their depredations in the Archipelago, until the Romans 
were compelled by these an-bitious neighbours, to turn their 
attention to their fleet. 

The city of Carthage, which stood upon the north of Afri- 
ca, upon the bay where Tuf:is now stands, was founded about 
1233 before Christ, as a rival of Tyre ; became the seat of 
the commerce of the north of Africa, and of the west ; but 
the limits of her territory being so narrowly circumscribed 
by the great desert of Barca, and the kingdom of Numidia, 
that she could acquire an extent of territory, only by foreign 
conquest ; this exhausted her treasure, trained her rival to 
arms, and proved her ruin. 

The governments of these states were monarchial ; that 
of Carthage continued ; but the government of Rome was 
changed into a consular government, ufider their fii'th king 
Tarquin, and the senate, with two consuls, chosen annually, 
by the people, governed Rome for the space of eight hundred 
years, and raised her to the summit of her greatness. 

The rival strength of these two cities was first called into 
action, in the contest for the island of Sicily, next carried 
into Africa, raged with violence by sea and land, twenty-two 
'years, and was closed favourably to the Romans. 

* Appendix B. 



36 RISE AND FALL OP HANNIBAL. 

Hamilcar, the Carthagenian general, fired with resentment 
for the humiliation of his country, swore his son Hannibal, 
when a lad, that he would revenge this inglorious war, and 
never be at peace with the Romans. 

Hannibal was true to his oath, and at the age of twenty- 
five, invaded Spain with a powerful army, secured his coq- 
quest, marched into Gaul, (or France) crossed over the Alps, 
(an enterrprize then unknown, and insurmountable to any 
other general,) entered upon the plains of Italy, and began 
his movements towards Rome. 

Hannibal triumphed over a succession of Roman consuls, 
who met him at the head of the Roman armies, and carried 
his arms to the gates of Rome. 

At this critical moment, the Romans assembled an army, 
and sent their consul Scipio into Africa, who laid siege to 
Carthage ; and another army was sent into Spain, who tri- 
umphed over Asdrubal the Carthagenian general, cut off his 
head, and conveyed it into his brother's camp in Italy. Sci- 
pio invested Carthage so close, that the Carthagenians sent 
for Hannibal out of Italy, to defend their own dweHmj^s. 

Stung with chagrm and mortification, Hannibal obeyed ; 
embarked his army, and repaired to Carthage. Here he 
was compelled to meet Scipio upon his own term?, be beaten, 
abandon Carthage to her fite, and flee into Syria. 

Here he excited a war with the Romans ; but this was 
soon closed, and Hannibal fled into Bithynia ; took poison, 
and died. Carthage submitted to such terms as Scipio dic- 
tated, and settled a peace. The war laated nineteen years. 
From this time, Carthage began to decline, and Rome con- 
tinued to rise and flourish ; she enlarged her borders by the 
arms of her consuls, extended her commerce, encouraged a 
war between Massanissa, king of Numidia, and Carthage ; and 
when they judged that success was certain, they sent a pow- 
erful army into Africa, not only to asf«i?t Massanissa ag^iinst 
the Carthageiiians, but to become principals in the war. 
This war commenced about fifty years after the close of the 
second Punic war, and was closed by Scipio the younger, 
grandson of the great Scipio Africanus. 

He by his intrigues, persuaded the Carthagenians to deliv- 
er up all their arms, together with some of the best blood of 
their city as hostages, or a guarantee of their pacific disposi- ' 
tion. When he had obtained these, Scipio threw off the aa-k. 
ordered all the citizens to remove from Carthage, and pro 



k 



FALL OF CARTHAGL. J7 

daimed. the decree of the senate, "that Carthage should be 
destroyed." 

The dehvery of their hostages and arms, had filled Car- 
thage with scenes of distress, not to be described ; but the 
decree threw them into despair. All Carthage resounded 
with acclamations of rage ; they resented this perfidy of the 
Romans, flew to armi, converted the city into one great work- 
shop to supply the place of those arms they had delivered up 
to the consul, assembled, and posted titeir army, and prepared 
for defence. 

Scipio enraged at this sudden change, commenced a gene- 
ral assault upon Carthage by surprise, and at dead of night ; 
but he was too late, Carthage was armed, read}^, and made a- 
desperate resistance. Scipio withdrew, changed his plans, 
and invested the city. 

The decree of the Roman senate had gone forth ; delenda 
est Carthago (Cartilage must be destroyed,) and the Cartha- 
genians knew, that such decrees were never revoked ; and 
that all they held dear was at stake. Armed with despera- 
tion, they baffled all the arts, intrigues, and assaults of Scipio, 
three years, when he entered Carthage by a desperate as- 
sault, gav-e the city up to pillage, and the sword, razed it to 
its foundation, and left not one solitary monument, to tell 
here stood Carthage. Thus fell Carthage, and the Carthage- 
nian state, in the year of their city, seven hundred. 

The Romans distributed the plunder of Carthage, to the 
states who claimed such trophies as they had been robbed of 
by the Carthageniaos ; and now felt themselves at liberty to 
carry their arms abroad, and lord it over the nations. 

They sent their consuls into the west, and subdued GauJ^ 
and the neighboring nations. They invaded Greece, subdu- 
ed the great Pyrrhus, who held Macedon, the former king- 
dom of the he-goat, and conqueror of the world ; they sub- 
dued, and sacked the city of Corinth, which broke the Ache- 
an league, and sealed the fate of Greece. They sent their 
consuls into Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Asia Minor, and the east. 

Julius Cesar carried his arms into Britain, and received the 
homage of the west, and Rome now as the legs of iron in the 
great image of Nebuchadnezzar, became the fourth king- 
dom ; and as the fourth beast of Daniel's vision strong ex- 
ceedingly, with great iron teeth, had devoured the world. 

Rome, become mistress of all the three great empires 
which had gone before her, together with all the smaller 

4 



S8 GiVIL WAR IN ROME. 

tribes, and states, had now to drink of the cup of her own 
affliction, which grew out of her ambition. 

A great question at this time arose at Rome, between her 
two greatest consuls, CeSar nnd Pompe}', which should rule. 
This like all other such questions, led to an appeal to the 
sword, and a civil war commenced ; the great champions 
collected their armies, and retired ijito the country of the 
Greeks ; they met at Pharsalia, and an action commenced, 
the conflict was worthy of the chiefs and their companions ia 
arms ; the prize was Rome- Cesar prevailed ; Pompey 
fled to Egypt ; the terror of Cesar's arms had gone before 
him, Egypt durst not give asylum to a Roman fugitive ; 
Pompey landed in Egypt, fell by the hand of the assassin, and 
thus left to Cesar the quiet possession of Rome, sixty years 
before Christ. 

Ambition had cherished the virtues and liberties of Rome, 
and laid the foundation of all her greatness. Virtue, liberty, 
and ambition combined, raised her triumphs over Carthage, 
with Africa, Europe and Asia, and seated her upon the throne 
ofthe fvorld. Here her virtue expired ; luxury, efteminacy, 
and corruption succeeded ; jealousy, faction, and a corrupt 
ambition followed , m-iih all that train of furious passions^ which 
are the life and said of factions in all states, and armed the 
nation against herself. 

Factions, the bane of all states and empires, when once 
formed, seldom, if ever close, without the triumph of party ; 
and this triumph generally seals the liberties ofthe people, 
by the energies of government. 

The tactions of Rome had long preyed upon the virtues of 
the state, until they had sown the seeds of corruption amongst 
the people ; and then their chief*, with the sword, caused them 
to become the insiruinenis of their own slavery i\nd ruin. 

The genius ofthe Roman government favored the revolu- 
tion we have witnessed, by placing so great jnower in the 
hands of their military chiefs, without a balance of power in 
the senate to check and control it. This, when rcgujuted by 
virtue, and foreign conquest, was not only safe, but the great 
fcpring which raised R me to the summit of bar glory. 

When the virtues ofthe st^te, and the ambition of foreign 
conquest were removed, and faction prevailed, the sword of 
conquest was turned by Cesar, and Pompey, against the lib- 
erties of their country, and filled Rome with butchery and 
distress ; great Cato fell ; Pompey fell ; that senate which 



£iriL WAR IN ROME. 



39 



had been the terror and admiration of the world, fell ; the 
pride and glory of the Roman state, her liberty, fell ; and 
Cesar was lord of Rome. 

Cesar had triumphed over Pompey, and the liberties of 
Rome, and was now, imperial dictator in the heart of the 
world ; but the virtue of Rome was not all gone ; Brutus yet 
lived, Cassins, Cicero and others had yet survived the fall of 
Pompey and Cato, and when Cesar had declared that Rome 
must be imperial, and Cesar the emperor, they slew him in 
the mid?t of his senate ; not that senate which had Cato for 
its head, he had yielded uj) his life with the liberties of his 
country, upon the point of his own sword, and the glory of 
that senate was loet in the fall of Cato. 

The fall of Cesar, opened afresh the civil wars of Rome. 
Anthony, the friend of Cesar ; Brutus and Cassius, the a- 
vengers of their country ; Octavius Cesar, then a youth, the 
nephew of Julius Cesar, and heir by adoption, set up their 
claims, and drew the sword. 

The struggle between these conflicting interests, was long 
and severe ; Rome bled at every pore ; the iield, the bloclc, 
and the scaffold, wasted the best blood of the nation. In this 
g;reat struggle, great Tully fell, under the axe of proscription ; 
Brutus and Cassius fell ; the battle of Actium^sealed the fate 
of Rome ; Anthony fled to Egypt, where he fell, and young 
Octavius reigned triumphant, filled the imperial chair of his 
uncle Julius, and gave peace to the world, under the title of 
Augustus Cesar. 

The temple of Janus was now shut for the first time since 
it was built ; tlie golden age of the world had now arrived, 
and the storm of war was hushed into a long repose. 



CHAP. X. 



Advent of the Messiah — his life and doctrines, death ayid resur- 
rection—prophecy upon Jerusalem — destruction of Jerusa- 
lem — dispersion of the Jews — division of the Roman Empire 
— rise of "he Papal power. 

mm. In this glorious, peaceful reign of Augustus Ces^ar, the fifth 

W^ kingdom commenced, Dan. II — 44,46. and the glorious 

epoch arrived when the promise of God to Adam was ac- 



40 G0L»EN AGE OF THE WOKLB. 

complished, " the seed of the woman shall bruise the ser- 
pent's head." The promise to Abraham, " that in his seed, 
ail the families of the earth should be blessed ;" — The pro- 
mise of good old Jacob, in his blessing to Judah, " the scep- 
tre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between 
his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the gathering 
of the people be." — The prophecy of Moses : '* A prophet 
shall the Lord your God raise up unto you like untQ me," 
^c. — The vision of Nebuchadnezzar : " And I saw a stone 
Gut otit of the mountain without hands, that smote the image 
upon his feet, and brake them to pieces, and became a great 
mountain and filled the whole earth ;" — The promise of God 
to til e world by all his prophets, was accomplished in this 
peaceful reign. The star appeared in Bethlehem ; the 
angelic host proclaimed in anthems of praise, "' glory to God 
in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men." 
*' Behold ! I bring yon glad tidings of great joy, which shall 
be to all people, for unto us is born this day, in the city of 
David, a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord." " For unto us 
a Son is born, unto us a Child is given ; and his name shall be 
called wonderful, counsellor, the mi2;hty God, the everlasting 
Father, the Prince of Peace." In Bethlehem of Judea, the 
wise men, as directed by the star, witnessed, and published 
this glorious event, this accomplishment of so many prophe- 
cies, through so many ages of the world, the advent of this 
Alpha and Omega, this bright -and morning star ; — this key of 
life, and immortality beyond the grave ; — this Saviour of 
men ; — this " immanuel, God with us." 

Great are the displays of God to men, through the patri- 
archs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets ; in- 
tinitely greater have they been through his Sod. 

In him has been exhibited a perfect pattern for our in- 
struction : love to God, and beAevolence to men. A system 
of miracles which he wrought, fully confirm this truth, " I 
and my Father are one." 

Christ's sermon on the mount, as recorded in the 5th, 6th, 
and 7th chapters of St. Matthew's gospel, urifold a system of 
truths, for our moral and religious instruction, worthy the 
Saviour of men ; — Maxims, which if reduced to practice, 
would mrdie a heaven upon earth. Well might it be said,^^ 
" He taught as one having authority, and not as the Scribes. "|H 
*' Surely man never spake like this man." ^^ 

Wonderful were the displays of divine power at his cruci- 



DISPLAYS OF CHRIST. 4 I 

tixion ; darkness covered the earth at noon day, the earth 
shook to the centre, the rocks re^ t, the 2;raves opened, and 
many that slept in the dust, sprani? into hfe The veil ofthe 
temple which had so long concealed this great mystery from 
the view of men, was rent trotn the top to the hottom, when 
he ho-ved his head in death, and said, *' it is finished." 

His enemies appalled at the avvftil sublimity ofthe scene, 
exclaimed in the anguish of their hearts, " surely this was a 
righteous man !" 

The resurrection of this key of life, and immortality, be- 
yond the grave, as he had announced to his followers : the 
declaration of the angels who accompanied his glorious as- 
cension ; " Why stand ye here looking up to heaven ? this 
same Jesus whom ye now see ascend into heaven, shall come 
again in like manner, in the clouds of heaven ;" the descent 
ofthe Holy Ghost, that promised Comforter, upon his disci- 
ples, on the day of Pentecost, and upon all his saints from 
that day to this ; the exact accomplishment of the judgments 
Christ denounced against Jerusalem ; " O Jerusalem, Jeru- 
salem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that 
are sent unto thee, how often wonld I have gathered thy 
children together as a hen gathereth her brood nadtT her 
wingi, and ye would not ; behold your house is left unto you 
desolate;'''' His address and prediction to his discs pl^^s when 
admiring the beauty of the temple, ••' See ye these goodly 
stones, Verily I say unto you, there shall not be \<h one -toae 
upon^another that shall not be thrown down, — AlJ, all claim 
the faith, reverence, obedience, homage, and adoration of 
men. 

The manner in which he has caused the doctrines and' 
principles th;-t he taught, together with the miracles which 
he wrought, and the displays of benevolence that he exiiibi- 
ted, in his life, for the instruction ofthe world, to be trans- 
mitted down to us, by the fourfold testimony of his disciples 
(called evangelisti) also his miraculous commission of Saul 
of Tarsus, (a persecutor of hia principles and followers) to 
go forth as Paul the great apostle of the Gentiles ; that 
through him the whole world might receive the knowledge of 
this gre it truth, *' that all things are given by the Father to 
the Son," and that he hath not only redeemed the world ; 
but that he shall judge the world ; — AH claim the gratitude 
of men. 

So fuUv were the nrophecies of Isaiah viii. and ix. and 
4 * 



At DISPERSION OF THE JEWSo 

Daniel ix. verse 24, and onward, accomplished at the time 
©f the advent of the Messiah, and so fully was he looked for. 
by the Jewish nation at this time, " that many false Christs 
appeared and deceived many ;" but the pride of the Jews 
had Winded their eyes, they had overlooked the first advent, 
when .Christ was to appear as a pattern of humility, meek- 
ness, patience and benevolence, which should reprove their 
haughty pharisaical character ; and were looking for a prince 
and a king, who should deliver their nation from Roman 
bondage, gratify their ambitious pride, and give them the 
dominion of the world. This haughty spirit led them to de- 
nounce their Saviour, and exclaim, " away with him, cru- 
cify him, crucify him ; his blood be upon us, and upon our 
children." 

God has taken the forfeiture at their hands : sifted them 
as wheat among the nations, and caused the prediction of the 
prophet again to be accomplished in them. " A hiss and a 
by- word shalt thou be among the nations ;" which continues 
to this day. 

Seventy years after the death, resurrection, and ascension 
of the Messiah ; Titus, the son of Vespasian, the Roman em- 
peror, laid siege to Jerusalem with a great army, took their 
city after a long and distressing siege (in whic'h the sufferings 
of the Jews were great beyond all former example,) gave it 
lip to pillage, and the sword ; butchered, destroyed, and dis- 
persed the inhabitants ; razed their temple, and ploughed 
up its foundations. Thus the avarice of the Jews, who had 
hid their wealth under the walls of their temple, led to the 
accemplishment of the ever memorable prophecy of the Mes- 
siah upon its ruin. " Not one stone shall be left upon anoth- 
er." 

The Romans, so long as they held Syria and Palestine as a 
province, which was four or five hundred years, treated the 
Jews with great severity. In the fifth century the Arabians 
or Saracens eatered Palestine, broke down the Reman power, 
established the Mahometan religion upon the ruins of the 
Jewish, drove out the remnant that had survived the se- 
verities of Roman persecution, and rendered the country a 
desert. 

This deluded, distressed people, once the chosen of God, 
and favoured of heaven, now became the fugitives, and vaga- 
bonds of the whole earth, without character, without country, 
without government, union, or head ; the derision, scorn and 



TRIUMPH OF THE CHURCH. 43 

jest of the world. They have been these eighteen hundred 
years scrapin-^ together gold as the dust, to be prepared at the 
call of the Messiah, to return to their own land, rebuild their 
city and temple, as is predicted by the prophets, and enjoy 
the triumphs of that glorious day; "when the mountain of 
the Lord's house shall be exalted upon the tops of the moun- 
tains, ami all nations shall flow unto it and be saved." 
Which prediction, will as assuredly be accomplished, as that 
they exist as a dispersed nation. 

God is now causing the Jews, the Himily of Abraham, to 
pass through the wilderness of the whole earth, to prepare 
thenv*1)y his corrections and judgments, to become the light 
of the world, when at the second advent of the Messiah, he 
' shall again collect the dispersed of Israel into the land of their 
fathers; Christ the sbechinah, shall illumine their under- 
'^ standings, remove the veil from their hearts, and a nation 
shall be born to God their Saviour, in a day. 

Let us learn instruction from what is before us. " To 
whom much is given, of them much will be required.'' If 
the Jews are thus punished for their infidelity and disobedi- 
ence, what will be our condemnation, for our disobedience 
and corruption, under the light of the gospel, with this nation 
as a living miracle before our eyes, together with all the 
prophecies, which have been so long, and are every day ful- 
filling in them, and the nations of the earth. 

Notwithstanding the vials of divine wrath have been pour- 
eel out upon this ancient church of God; Christ has yet a 
true church on the earth, to perpetuate his name, and his 
praise, to the latest generation, into which at his second com- 
ing, this shepherd of Israel, will gather the remnant of his 
people, together with the fulness of the Gentiles, and there 
shall be onefold, and one shepherd throughout the habitable 
earth. 

This little church from its infancy has been, like the an- 
cient church in the wilderness, under great trials, and dis- 
tresses, as well as frequent displays of his presence and pro- 
tection. That Roman empire which blotted out the ancient 
church, and paved the way in the peaceful reign of Augustus 

I Cesar for the planting of the christian church, in the course 
bf three hundred and fifty years, raised ten general persecu- 
Rons against her, persecutions designed to drown her in her 
own blood ; yet Christ appeared in the midst of her afflic- 
tions, and massacres, and raised herio th^ dominion of bloody 



44 RISE OF POPERY. J^S|} 

idolatrous Rome, under the patronage of Constantlne tnS / 
great, and throu'i^h him she r'lled the Roman e.npire. 

In the midst of these triuriiphs, Con«tantine removed the 
seat of 2;ove'^n'!ient from Rome to Byz.mtium, (a city of 
Greece) on the borders of the Black Sea, and changed its 
name to that of Constantinople, in honor of the emperor ; 
this gtriirk a fatal blow to imperial Rome, from this time the 
legs of iron, in this part of the iireat image of Nebuchadnez- 
zar, b'^gan to decline, "the feet, part of iron, and part of 
clay" began to appear, and the empire began "to be partly 
strong, und p i^ily broken." 

Wlien the Emperor Constantine removed the government 
to Constantinople, he left a viceroy in the west, styled the 
Exarch of Ravenna : (the name of tll^ city where he resiiled) 
he, with the bi.ahop of Rome, governed in the we>t. The 
poinp and splendor, which Constantine attached to the 
churches, and to tlie worship, greatly increased the power, 
and influence of the bishops, particularly the bishop of liome ; 
whose power soon become superior to that of the Exarch's 
ofRavHmna. 

The meekness, simplicity, and humility of the gospel, were 
soon succeeded, and swallowed up in this new order of 
things ; which the luxury and effeminacy, of the R mian 
state, at this time, greatly favored. Under tins state of things, 
and soon after the death of Constantine, the Goths and Vun- 
dals, under Alaric, began to make their depredations upon 
the western empire ; and revenge upon those corrupt, ef- 
feminate Romans, the injuries they had suffered, from the 
depredations of their warlike ancestors. 

These ravages continued about forty years ; attended with 
all the excesses and cruelties of savage wars : until Altilla, 
j[stvUd the scourge of God) with his Huns, put an end to 
^ie'?v«i»^^iin empire, by laying wa*te the countries, exter- 
minating the inhabitants, pillaging and sacking Home. 

With the fall of the western empire, fell all the laws, reli- 
gion, aits and sciences, of the west ; and a state of perfect ig- 
norance and barbarism, rose upon its ruins. This change 
introduced that period, known by the name of the dark Mges ; 
which continued aboi.it eight hundred years ; down to the^ 
middle of the tbirteetth century; and in some degree to thidH 
day. ~ 

The religion of these barbarians, was the grossest pagan- 
ism. They respected neither age, sex, principle, or proper* 



PAPAL SUPREMACY 4B 

ty, excepting that of the bishops of Rome : this the bishops 
Soon took advantage of, and made up a religion, exactly suit- 
ed to the spirit of the times ; having the old Je\\ish rehgion 
for its basis. 

The bishop of Rome laid aside his mitre, took the triple 
crown and sceptre ; and upon this Jewish basis introduced 
the worship of saints and images ; in imitation of the heathen 
mythology of the Greeks and Romans, and- the Pagan religion 
of the barbarians. To these he added a corrupt Christianity ; 
retaining little more of it, in its purity and power, than the 
name. 

Armed with the authority of this religion, the bishop of 
Rome assumed independent sovereignty, and exercised the 
powers of a temporal prince : the tyrant Phocas, who was 
then upon the throne of Constantinople, confirmed this 
power by a special edict about the year 606. Under this 
edict were united, the spiritual and temporal powers of the 
bishops of Rome, and they claimed and exercised universal 
sovereignty. 

, About the year 746, the Franks, in addition to the Goths, 
Tandals, Allans, and Bnrgundi, who had overrun Gaul, came 
over the Rhine, and settled in the north, under Pharamond 
their leader. Clovis, their king, embraced the papal reli- 
gion ; and Pepin, oneof his successors, drew his s^^ord, and 
marched an army into Italy, to protect the pope ^^ainst his 
neighbors, when he began to make too free with his powers 
as universal bishop. The pope, in his turn, to reward 
Pepin's fidelity, gave him his benediction, and a general 
harmony- has since prevailed between the two governments. 

The bishop of Rome, or p0j)e, having thus obtained and 
exercised universyl sovereignty : assumed to himself divine 
honors, under the title of " our Lord God the pope ; the 
immaculate representative of God ; vicar of Jesus Christ ; 
and head of the church. ^^ Also, as proprietor of St. Peter, 
he held thpkeys of eternal justice, and became the grand ar- 
biter of all spiritual concerns ; and the dispenser of pardon 
for all sins, past, present, and to come. The ceremony of 
address to his holiness was, to ki«!S his great toe ; with, or 
without the golden slipper, as his holiness might graciously 
condescend, 

I Thus seated on a temporal throne, with a dominion over 
the city of Rome, and the neighboring country, called the 
ecclesiastical states, which afford a small revenue ; the sale 
ot iDdulgencie»gave a handsome additioQ to the c'rovva ; and 



46 FIRST CRUSADE. 

to increase it, his holiness created amid'^lle state, after death, 
called purgatory, where all soul^ rested, that were not par- 
doned at deati) ; if they were not ransomed by their friends, 
with mon<^y, in a reasonable time, and prayed out, they pas- 
sed iuto hell : but if thus saved, they went to heaven. 

This system of finance gave his holiness a revenue, that 
enabled him to support a throne, with more magnificence 
and splendor, th;m any other potentate. See Daniel, 7th 
chapter, 7th and 8th verses, also '^1 — 24, 25, 26. 



CHAP. XI. 



Kingdom of Charlemagne — of Mahomet — of the Turks—fall 
of the Roman empire o Constantinople. 

We have now traced the progress of this horn of the Ro- 
man beast, don'n to the year 800. At this time arose Char- 
lemagne king of the Franks ; who subdued the several small 
states of France, Germany, and Italy, established the sove- 
reignty and unity of the crown of France ; placed himself at 
the head of the German empire ; and received jfrom the hands 
of Leo the 3d, the iron crown of the Romans, with the title 
of Emperor of the West. 

CharlemajEfne, in his turn, protected the Pope ; enforced 
the papal reU;>ion, with fire and suord. throughout all his 
dominions ; and became one of the heads of trie Roman beast, 
about 200 years after P.pin. This little horn, this papal 
bevst, continued in regnhir progression, to enlarge and ex- 
tend his power aod influence, until rhe pontificate of Urban 
2d, 1095, when the vision of the prophet was fully accom- 
plished. *' And these''— i. e. the ten horrjs '* shall agree to 
give their poorer unto the beast." 

About £00 years after Charlemagne, Peter the Hermit 
came out of Germany over the Rhine, into the southern 
kingdoms, and preached the fir^t crusade or holy war, against 
the infidels, who were then in posgession of Jerusalem. The 
flame spread like lightning throughout Christendom. Prin- 
ces sold or mortgaged their estates, to raise money ; rallied 
their subjects for the war, and took the field 'v\ person ;| 
marched, or rather swarmed, into the plains of Asia Minor, 
and from thence into Syria, and laid siege to Jerusalem. 



RISE OF MAHOMET. 47 

Here was exhibited snchzeal and feats of valour, as were 
never beforr' known. The city was carried by assault, and 
the «hristians held it one year. Before we proceed further 
with this war, we will t ike a view of the ri=e, progress and 
character of the powers against which all Christendom had 
drawn the sword. 

The prophecy upon I^htnael, when he was driven out from 
his father's house, has b;ien thus far accomplished ; the storms 
of war have bnrstall around him, yet he has dwelt quietly in 
the presence of his brethren. We will now see how he put 
forth his hand upon Ihe countries, rose into power, and " be- 
came a great nation.^' 

About the year 606, Mahomet, a monk of Mecca, renoun- 
ced his relio:ion, in which he had been educated, retired to a 
cave, and framed a new one. As I have shewn, how the 
prophecy of the little horn was fulfilled in the papal power; 
so I will shew, how the prophecy of St. John — Revelation ix. 
1 — 11th, has been accomplished, in these locusts of Arabia. 

When Mahomet had matured his religion, he came forth, 
and p'.ihlished it at Mecca ; asserting, that God had sent 
Christ, to publish his Religion, to persuade men to heaven, 
but that He had sent Mahomet to compel them to heaven ; — 
That he was the representative of God, and the only true 
prophet. He took for the basis of his reli<j;ion, the old Jew- 
ish patriarchal ; with the indulgence of polygamy, and pro- 
hibiting the use of wine. In prayer, copying the Pharisees, 
but discarding the ritual or ceremonial law: denouncing 
Christ, and proclaiming himself the only true prophet. 

Mahomet discarded the bible, and made one of his own, 
called the Koran, or Alcoran ; composed of a great number 
of detached sentences, enjoining polygamy, and prohibiting 
the use of wine : enjoining prayers, and here and there an- 
nouncing " God is God, and Mahomet is his prophet!" 

This religion being new, and more indulgent to the ambi- 
tion, lusts and corruplions of men, he soon had followers. He 
also met with opposition. The city of Mecca banished the 
prophet, who flfd to Medina, (another city of Arabia) which 
flight, called in Arabic the Hegira, is the date of the Mahom- 
etan era. Here his followers increased, till they soon made a 
strong military force. With this, he subdued his own country ; 
-then carried his arms into Palestine, and took Jernsalem in 637. 
^': He next overrun Egypt, and took the city of Alexandria. 
The Caliph Omar ordered the largest library in the world, to 



48 RISE OF THE TUKK3. 

be burnt; with this reason, "that if it contained any thing 
which was not in the Koran, it ought to be burnt, if not^ it 
ought to be burnt. 

With the wealth and spoils of Egypt, another army wag 
raised which went into the east ; overran and subdued the 
eastern provinces of the Roman empire, took Babylon, and 
razed it to its foundation's ; and as the prophets, Jeremiah 
and Isaiah had predicted, "swept her with the besom of de- 
struction, so that her place is not to be found." 

The army of Egypt proceeded west afthe same time, over- 
ran and subdued all the Roman provinces on the north of Af- 
rica, passed over into Spain, subdued that, and passed into 
France : here they were checked in a severe action, with 
Charles Martel, king of France ; and were driven back into 
Spain ; where they held possession, until they were drives 
out, with the assistance of the Moors, in 1091. 

These locusts of the bottomless pit, continued their rava- 
ges upon the southern section of the Roman empire, five 
prophetic months, or one hundred and fifty years : they thea 
built Bagdad, in the east, on the Tigris, and called it " the 
city of peace." 

The conquests of the Ishmaelites, the Mahometans or 
locusts, extended over all the north of Africa, Syria, Pales- 
tine and the eastern provinces of the Roman empire, to 
the river Indus : and the religion of the prophet was enfor- 
ced with the sword, throughout all this extent of dominion ; 
where it continued to prevail under the Saracens, until. these 
provinces were wrested from them by the Turks. 

When the vision of locusts was closed ; the prophet adds, 
'* one woe is past, behold ! there come two woes more here- 
after :" in the next verse goes on to unfold the vision of the 
Euphratean horsemen : and long before the use of gun-pow- 
der' was known, he describes the exact explosion, as it ap- 
pears when horsemen fire on horsebac"k, " fire, smoke and 
brimstone, coming out of the horses' mouths." These^Tar- 
tars began their conquests with cavalry, and very numerous 
cavalry ; and the use of fire arms gave them a great superi- 
ority over their enemies, and rendered their conquests rapid 
and easy. ^ 

They overran and destroyed the Saracen empire, in the 
east, took Bagdad the capital, conquered Syria, and took Je- 
rusalem. Ihey also conquered Egypt, and all the Saracen 



U0N«tUE3T OF eONSTANTIN©PLE. 4§ 

states, on the north of Africa ; and having triumphed over 
the eastern and southern sections of the Roman empire, they 
entered Europe, and fixed their capital at Constantinople, in 
the year 1450. Thus the western Roman empire, was pla- 
ced under the dominion of the papal religion, and the eastern 
under that of Mahomet : where ihey will remain, until the 
accomplishment of the prediction of the apostle, 2 Thessalo- 
nians, ii. 3. *' Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all 
that is called God, or is worshipped ; sitting in the temple of 
God, shewing himself that he is God : whom the Lord shall 
consume, with the breath of his mouth, and the brightness of 
his coming;" and until the vision contained in tiie 2d chap- 
ter of Daniel, and the latlerpart of the 7th shall be fulfilled. 

Thus we have seen how a few military adventurers under 
Mahomet, grew into power, and overran mighty empires, 
states and kingdoms : also, how a small cinn of Tartars near 
the source of the river Euphrates, began their depredations 
upon their neighbors, and being enriched and encouraged by 
their spoils, soon became numerous and powerful ; subdued 
the conquests the Saracens had made and enjoyed four hund- 
red J ears ; adopted their religion, enforced it like Mahomet, 
with the sword, and the arm of the law ; fixed their capital 
in the seat of the beast with great iron teeth, and aspired to 
the dominion of the world. 

Thus we have seen, the displays of the goodness of God, 
in the communications of himself, and his will to men, through 
the successive ages of the world, from the creation, to the 
flood ; a period of one thousand six hundred and fifty six 
years : from the flood to the call of Abraham, and the foun- 
ding of his church : from thence, through the medium of his 
prophets, God has unfolded all the great events which were 
to come to pass ; and the pens of the several historians have 
recorded their accomplishment, doun to the destruction of 
the Roman empire, and the establishment of the beast and 
false prophet upon its ruins. 

From the several chastening.s of the ancient and modem 
church, (or Jewish and christian,) we may learn the truth 
of the great maxim of inspiration, that " to whom much is 
given, ofthem much will be req-<iired" — and " he that know- 
eth his master's will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with 
many stripes." 

END OF PART FIRST, 



APPENDIX 

TO PART FIRST. 
PERSIA. 

The Medo-Persian empire, which was founded by Cyrus 
upon the union of the Babylonian, Medean, and Persian 
empiree, about 536 years before Christ, passed through 
a succession of revohitions ; first by the conquest of the 
Greeks ; next by the conquest of the Romans; then by the 
Saracens, or Arabians ; next by the Turks. 

About th )f the 12th, or beginning of the ISfh centu- 

ry, Jengliis .1, a Tartar prince, on the north of Persia, 

sprang up, asssumed the style of conqueror, overran Persia, 
a great part of Hindostan, (or hither India,) extended his 
arms iv-to the east as far as the confines of China, and laid 
the foundation of that extensive monarchy, known by the 
name of the Mogul's empire, or empire of the great Mogul. 
He was succeeded by Timer Btk or Tainerlane, (another 
Tartar prince,) who extended his conquests over all that 
part of Asia, which formerly composed the extensive empire 
of Persia, greatly weakened the growing strength of the 
I'urks, and fixed the permanency of the Mogul's empire, 
1399. 

The dynasty continued in his line, almost three centuries 
and a half, until the conquest of Kouli Khnn, 1732. This 
prince or sophi of Persia, threw off the Tartar yoke, and 
like Gustavus Vasa of Sweden, rou.'-ed up his countrymen to 
asseit tieir liberties : with this spirit, he broke the usurpa- 
tion of the Tartars in Persia, and greatly weakened the em- 
pire of the Moguls. Since his conquest, the empire of Per- 
sia has been governed, like Egypt, by a number of indepen- 
dent sovereignties, and has-been the theatre of distressing 
civil wars. 

Kouli Khan, also penetrated into Hindostan 1735, dissolved 
the governr! ent of the Moguls, and left that country like 
Persia, under the government of a great number of indepen- 
deiit sovereignties, styled Soubahs, or Nabobs. The civil 
wars between these Nabobs, laid the foundation for the ex- 
tensive conquests and settlen.ents of the English East India 
company in India, and guaranteed to them a revenue, which 



C«INA. oi 

has enabled England to re?ist the aaibition of the French re- 
volution, furnish money for the support of all confederated 
Europe, thr'>ugh this arduous struggle of a twenty year's war, 
and by a splendid triumph give peace to the world. 

We should here notice the display of the government of 
God, in raising up Charles XII. kin^ of Swcdan, to excite a 
spirit of enterprise in Russia. We now see in Persia, a char- 
acter of the same description, in Kouli Khan ; raised up at 
the same time, and to co-operate in the same signal events, 
(although so remote from each other) by laying the founcM- 
tion for those conquests in India, which have furnished the 
purse for confederated Europe, through the medium ofEng- 
land, and rendered their sword triuinphant. 

CHINA. 

This empire, on the eastern extremity of the continent oi 
Asia, differing from all others in its government, religion, 
manners, customs, and extensive population ; is noted for 
the pride of antiquity. The modern Chinese carry back 
their origin beyond the flood, and some of them beyond the 
creation. About two hundred years before Christ, literature 
began to flourish in China, the art of printing was discoverd ; 
their first lu^torian, Sematsian, wrote about ninety-seven 
years before Christ. 

There is nothing that appears in their history with any 
certainty, farther back than the tirst dynasty under prince 
Yao, or Yu, about two thousand years before Christ. From 
the nicest in ve«ti2;ation of Ciiinese chronology, by some mod- 
ern and learned Chinese, who were educated in F.-ance and 
returned to China in the year 1765, and whose correspon- 
dence has since been published at Paris ; it does not appear, 
that the kingdom was founded earlier than the year of the 
world 2'iOl. 

The Chinese suffered much from the depredations of the 
northern Tartars, until the rein of Chi-ho angti, who caused 
theAinous northern wall to be built, extending one thousand 
five hundred miles, from east to w^st. This secured the 
peace of China for several centuries ; but the Tartars, after 
repeated assaults, and ^lepredations, finally succeded in break- 
ing over the wall, and subduing the em|Hre in 1635, and a 
Tart <r dyn isty is now ipon the throne. Under this dynasty, 
all the eastern part of the Mogul's empire has been added to 



•ri eOVERNMENT OF CHINA. 

China. The emperor resides in sunimer in Tartary, and in 
winter in China ; which preserves the union. 

China Proper is supposed to contain more inhabitants than 
all Europe, they being estimated by Sir George Staunton at 
three hundred millions. The love of country is such in 
China, that they are never known to emigrate ; they carry 
on no foreign commerce, although their exports are immense. 
Foreigners are not admitted into any of their cities, and only 
into particular parts of their country near the sea coast, and 
i"to the suburbs of a few particular commercial cities. 

Their government is absolute, and yet patriarchal ; ^he 
emperor is not the tyrant, but the father of his people. Their 
religion is pagan ; but so fir mixed with the religion of Bra- 
ma, that they have pure, and simple ideas of the supreme' 
being, who presides over the universe : the doctrine of 
transmigration also, makes a part of the religion of China. 

This country was first visited by the Portuguese, in their 
discoveries in the Indian ocean, in the year 1586 ; when 
they obtained a grant of the island of Macao, at the entrance 
of the harbor of Canton. Since that time, the commerce of 
C}>inahas been carried on from Europe and America, by the 
way of the Cipe of Good Hope. 

The pope sent missionaries, of the order of the Jesuits, 
into China, in the year 1692, who met with some apparent 
success, until they began to shew a disposition to dictate in 
the affairs of the government ; then the emperor expelled 
them in 1742. The English government attempted to es- 
tablish a diplomatic intercourse with China in 1792, and ient 
lord M'Cartney for this special purpose ; but some manoeu- 
vres on the coa>t, particularly in approaching the shores 
with their ships, making soundings, &c,, and imprudence in 
the mission soon det'eated the object. Tiie jealousy of the 
emperor was alive to these movements and it is owing en- 
tirely to such jealousy, that China has so long retained her 
government. 

United America, will doubtless in a few years enjoy, a free 
trade with China, from the western shore of this continent, 
where will spring up and flourish, some of the largest and 
most splendid cities. 

HINDOSTAN. 

This Peninsula, known by the name of India within tiie 



ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA. ^3 

Ganges, (or hither India) was discovered by the Portuguese, 
in 1497 ; and in the year 1506, they commenced the settle- 
ment of Goa, on the Malabar coast. Here they established 
an inquisition which continues to this day. It was visited 
over land by the English, in 1691, and at the same time by a 
private adventure, of three ships. This adventure proved 
unfortunate ; two of the ships were lost, and the third was 
seized on by the crew, and the captain, after an absence of 
three years, returned to England in another ship. 

This adventure, though di?!astrous, laid the foundation for 
all the future prosperity of the English in India. The intelli- 
gence brought home by captain Lancaster, induced a second 
adventure, which proved successful, and laid the foundation 
of the charter for the firsit East India company, Dec. 1600, 
with a stock of 72,000/. In 1698, a new company was formed ; 
and in 1700, the old one was re-established, for which they 
agreed to pay to government 400,000/. for five years. In 
1773, the British government passed their India Bill, and in 
1774 they sent out judges from England, to preside over 
their India settlements. The commerce of India continues 
to increase and flourish to this day. 

The Dutch next explored the Indian ocean, and touched 
upon the peninsulaof Hindostan in 1596. The English East 
India company made their first voyage in 1601. The same 
year the French doubled the cape of Good Hope, and visited 
India. In 1612, the Danes made their first voyage to India. 
All these kingdoms established India companies, after the 
manner of the English. 

This country, wben first visited by Europeans, was divided 
into a number of viceroyalties, or sovereignties, united under 
the emp. ror Of Hindostan, or tbe Mogtil's empire ; posses- 
sing an extensive population, and enjoying one of the richest, 
and most tVrtile soils, witii a mild and delightful clim:ite. 
The frequent wars which sprang up frono time to time, be- 
tween the princes or Soubahs, led them to have recourse to 
the E'^ropeaas for aid. 

In 1738, th-^ famous Kouli Khan, after having usurped the 
Persian throne, overran a great part of the Mogul's empire, 
weakened, and destroyed tiie power of the descendants of 
Tame: line, a power which had continued nearly thrr-e cen- 
turies ai:d a half; also overran Hindostan, dissolved the uni- 
ty of the empire, and left it at the mercy of a great number 

6* 



o4 ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA, 

of independent princes, who soon became rivals, and render- 
ed this delightful country, a theatre of perpetual wars, and 
devastation. 

This weakness of the natives, was soon turned to the ad- 
vantage of the Europeans, and enabled them to maintain, and 
extend their settlements, the English, at Bombay, Madras, 
Calcutta, &c. ; and the French, at Pondicherry. 

At the peace of 1763, the French ceded Pondicherry to 
the English, which gave them an unrivalled possession of 
the sea coast of this eastern world, secured the foundation 
of their extensive commerce, wealth and power : and enabled 
her to become mistress of the seas and arbiter of the world. 

The population that has grown out of these settlements, 
with the extensive conquests which the British East India 
company have since made, amount to about twenty millions ; 
this, added to the settlements the English have made, and 
acquired, in the Indian ocean, (including New Holland, and 
the isles) is estimated at forty millions. 

This extensive, rich, and populous country, has become 
the theatre of christian missionaries. The ancient religion 
of this country, was the religion of Brama, who taught 
the doctrine of one supreme being, who made, and gov- 
erns all things, together with the absurd doctrine of 
metemsychosis, or transmigration of souls at death, into 
the forms of all the different animals, according to their 
characters in life ; and the practice of image worship, or 
idolatry. 

Into \yhat a state of corruption, ignorance, superstition, 
and enthusiasm, this religion is now fallen, has been very im- 
pressively disclosed by the Rev. Dr. Buchanan. Successful 
efiorts are now making to translate the Bible into the differ- 
ent oriental languages, and diffnse it throughout this eastern 
world. A work slow in its progress, but one which will as- 
suredly prosper and succeed. 



TARTARY. 

This vast extent of country, lying; upon the north of Asia, 
and extending from the eastern borders of Russia in Europe, 
to the northern ocean on the north, and the Pacific ocean on 
the ea?t, embracing Chinese Tartary, TLibet, a«d a part of 
HindostaQ on the south ; was all known to the Greeks and 



DBSCRIPTION OP THE TARTARS. oB 

^Romans, under the general 'name ofScythia. The ancient 
Scjthians defeated i^lexander, h.y retiriug before him, laying 
waste their country, and decoying him into their uncultiva- 
ted wilds, where he had like to have been ruined and de 
stroyed. 

The same mode of warfare was practised by the Parthians, 
or Scythians, in the east upon the Roman general Crassus, 
who was ruined vvilh his army amidst the sands, and uncul- 
tivated plains of Parthia. By this mode of defence, they 
have been able to secure their country from conquest ; but 
it has been no security against the feuds, civil wars, and mas- 
sacres, which have constantly arisen out of their savage, 
barbarous manner of life ; their divided, and wandering 
mode of subsisting, and the totnl want of union, and energy in 
their government. These civil wars, and massacres, have 
been common, and often attended with the slaughterxjf three 
or four hundred thousand. This has kept down their popu- 
lation, and wasted their strength ; and has been the chief 
caus-e of their submission to the Russian government. 

Some large and populous cities are scattered throughout 
this vast extent of country ; but literature, and the arts have 
never flourished in Tartary. The mass of the population 
lead wandering shepherd lives, or subsist by fishing, and 
hunting. The 'i'artars are noted for their attachment to the 
horse, and of course for their nutnerous, and fine horses : 
they also prefer the flesh of this animal to that of the ox, or 
cow. 

From these regions of barbarism, sprang up Othman, the 
conqueror of the west of Asia, and chief of the Turks ; 
Jenghis Khan, and Taaierlane, the conquerors of the middle 
and southern parts of Asia ; and from Chinese Tartary sprano" 
the present reigning tam.ily on the throne of China. Since 
tlie conquests of Kouli Khan (the Persian,) early in the last 
century, there has been a general quiet througliout this east- 
ern world. 

The war practised by the Russians upon the emperor Na- 
poleon in 1812,' was a Tartar war ; the Sf^me as was practised 
upon Alexander, the Grecian , upon Crassus, the Roman, 
and upon all other foreign invasions. The Russians dc coyed 
him into their country, by retiring, and laying it waste ; 
and when the emperor presumed that he had secured his 
object, in the possession of Rloscou' ; the Tartar governor 
Rastopchin, set fire to the city, and burnt him out. This 



59 WARS OF THE TARTARS. 

mode of defence has been invariably practised from the ear- 
liest ages, and with invariable succes,^. 

All this nest of ancient and modern conquerors, !ying east 
of Russia in Europe, is now under a general system of gOF- 
ernment, and subject to the emperor of Russia ; which will 
account for the general quiet that has so long prevailed in 
this country. Should the ambition of the present, or some 
future emperor, rouse up this now dormant force ; the same 
scenes would be acted over again, and the same consequen- 
ces result from them, as from the invasions of Otuman, 
Jenghis Khan, Tamerlane, &c. The same countries which 
were then the theatres of conquests, are now as inviting, and 
as defenceless as they were tiien ; and when under the direc- 
tion of one government, so well organized, and so energetic 
as that of Russia, it may well be presumed that more serious, 
and extensive conquests may be effected, than any that have 
been recorded. 

The eout.^iern nations are aware of this, and it is said that 
the Turks have a tiadition, that the Russians will subdue 
their empire, and that they even fix upon a particular gate, 
at which they will enter when they shall subdue Constanti- 
nople. 

Thus the southern kingdoms of Asia have been ravaged, 
and laid waste by the Tartar*, or Scythians of Asia, Irom 
time to time, in the .«ame manner that the southern kingdoms 
of Eur-^pe have been ravai^ed, and laid waste by tbe C dui, 
Tartars, or Srythians of E irope. Even we, ihf favored 
inhabitants of A nerica, sprang from the Saxons who were 
a clan, or tribe of Celtii, or ^^cythians, who subd^ied the 
Britons ; planted in that isle the first principles of liberty, 
and pure represpntative government, and tranjsplantt-d them 
into this new world, where they have flourished, and eclip= 
sed the original stock. 

EGYPT. 

This kingdom was founded by Mizraim, the son of Ham, 
in the year b'jfore Christ, 52J88, Po-^sessino; the richest 
soil, and the most inviting climate, it floui ished above ill «5ther 
kingvloms, in wealth, splendor, literature', and the art-, nnd 
became the nursery from whence the splendid nntions of 
Grec^ce arid Rome, derived th^-ir literature, and knowledge 
of the arts and sciences. Egypt became not only the pride 



CHARACTER OP EGYPT. 67 

©f the world, but the envy of the world. It eontinned one 
thousand two hundred and sixteen years, when it was broken, 
and subdued by Nebuchadnezzar king of Assyria, about six 
hundred years before Christ. 

During this period, were constructed those stupendous 
monuments of the arts, the pyramids ; the largest of which 
covers with its base six acres of ground, and is six hundred 
feet in height ; their splendid obelisks, and mummies, (those 
monuments of the art of embalming their dead,) the Egyp- 
tian cement, which hardened with time, and became more 
durable than stone ; the canal that united the Nile with the 
Red Sea, and the almost innumerable canals that conducted 
the innundations of the Nile, and fertilized the whole face of 
the country ; were amongst the arts which distinguished 
Egypt. 

Nebuchadnezzar, plundered, and sacked the kingdom, 
broke its spirit, and rendered it an easy prey to the succes- 
sive conquerors. Alexander the great, conquered Egypt 
about the year 330 before Christ, and after his death it fell 
under the government of Ptolemy, one of his generals. It 
would have flourished under the Ptol'^mies, had it not been 
harassed and distressed, by the perpetual wars with the Selu- 
eidae, or king?? of Syria. 

With the fall of the Grecian empire, Egypt fell under the 
dominion of the Romans, in the year 31 after Christ. It 
continued a Roman |)rovince until the couquest of the Sara- 
cens, about the year 625. They established the Mafsometan 
religion, and govern^^d Egyj>t by their caliphs, until tiie con- 
quest of the Turks, in the year 1525. 

The Turks confirrTied the M.;ho!r.etan religion in Egypt, 
and throughout their empire, and prostrated the strength of 
the kingdom, by giving it up to the government of a great 
number of petty sovereigns, called Beys, nho wasted the 
energies, wealth, and resources of the countiy, and became 
tributary to the sultan of Constantinople. In 1799, this 
baiest ofkingdoms was overrun by the French, under general 
Bonaparte. In 1801 it was conquered by the Rcghsh ; and 
in 1803, ceded by the English back again to the Ttjrks, under 
whose power it now continues. Thus we see how the pre- 
diction of the prophet, "Egypt shall become the basest of 
kingdoms," has been fulfilled. 

Egypt, in its origin, was almost as ancient as Assyria, and 
Chaldea ; and its duration as a kingdom, has claarly evinced 



■}0 CHARACTER OF EGYPT. 

the importance of those virtuous institutions, on which this 
monarchy was founded At this earlj age of the world, the 
knowledge of the true God was lost, all men were sunk in a 
gross, and harbarous idolatry ; the science of civil govern- 
ment was in its infancy, and the passions of men were corrupt. 
In this state of thinijs, let ns take a view of the principles 
which constituted the basis ot their government, and see how 
far they became an example for thf. Greeks,— the Romans ; 
and in point of moral virtue, have surpassed the governments 
of latter ages ; ev^n of this boasted age of wisdom, light, 
experience, religion, and improvement. 

The genius of their government was hereditary monarchy ; 
to preserve the cu-toms of theii ancestors, was one of its 
fundamental maxims. The service of the king was coi:.sid- 
erPA\ too sacred, to be f^.'^graded by a foreigner ; iiad the ear 
of anjesty too pure to be polluted with ignoble sentiments. 

The frugality of the king, and even the simplicity of his 
diet, were considf^red as objects of public importance, de- 
serving the attention of the laws; public business ofmiigni- 
tude and importance, the prayers, devotions and sacrifices of 
the tempU^.. together with a rehearsal of the exploits, and 
customs of -lis ancestors, from the sacred records, was pre- 
scribed to the ki'ia:. as the duties of tho morning. To enforce 
thf'^e a ^eit in pi'larin the temple ofTheb'es, was inscribed 
wit:. :;i iMf r itions against that kmg who should dare to vio- 
late' ti t ; . 

To ridai'f.i ter jnsrice, preserve ord^r, and support the 
tbrorie, t e kipf^ ajtpointed thirty judges, selected fro?ii all" 
the p ;i-.^-ip.'i iti's rf Eg} pt. Wij<dom and virtue, with a 
fv'i- -;ri<l :rood report, were the sole criterions of preferment ; 
and li.- jnd^*s wtre supported at t!i(^ expense of the king. 

Th(. la.vs 2:nvern.ed m Egyj't, arid every citizen from his 
inf»:!cy vvvis tauffl't to know and reverence them. This es- 
tabli^jlied a regular system of habits, which enabled the Egyp- 
ti.jnst^ preserve their government so long; and is the true 
maxiiTi of the governmefit of China to this tiay. 

Ignor mre and idleness wore alike dct.is^ted in Esrypt ; to 
suppress these, it became necessary for ever}' man to enrol 
his name, tog.ether with his employment, upon a put'lic re- 
gister in the hand« of some magistrate. 

The ^'"gyptians ex'^mpted from exer-ution, oi; the power of 
the creditor, all the instruments used by the debtor to ©btasR 



MER HABITS AND MANNERS. 69 

lis support ; judging it both barbarous and infamous, to divest 

man of the means of subssistence, and ofpayinijhis debts, 
n account of his misfortunes ; but a;ave up the debtor in per- 
on to be imprisoned by the creditor. 

The Egyptians paid the hiii;hest respect to old age ; the 

oung always rose in their presence, and did them reverence. 

jrratitude amongst the Egyptians was ranked with the first 

the virtues, and gratitude to the king, claimed the first 
uuk ; and upon this principle, that he who is grateful to 
len, will be grateful to the gods. 

The religion of the Egyptians, was idolatry, wrapped in 
lysteries known only to the priej^ts, and long since lost in 
le ages of obscurity, together with that labyrinth of hiero- 
lyphics, which adorned the pyramids, obelisks, pillars, and 
tatues of Egypt. 

The superstition of the Egyptians, like all other idolaters, 
'as as great as their deities were numerous, and it was death 
)r any person to take the life of any one of all the numerous 
tiimals they worshipped. 

The Egyptians, like all other idolaters, had this thin veil 
f covering for their religion, " that they worshipped God 
I the image, and not the image as God." 

The pyramids of Egypt, those mausoleums of the dead — 
>gether with their mummies, those monuments of the art of 
mbalming their dead, clearly shew the reverence the Egyp- 
ans paid to their funerals, and the sacred rites of sepulture. 
y embalming they preserved entire the persons of their an- 
Bstors adorned with such hieroglyphics as were commemo- 
itive of their virtues, — and those only which were sanction- 
i by the public voice. 

The hieroglyphical panegyrics upon the dead, regarded 
9t birth, wealth, or honor? ; all Egyptians were considered 
3ble. The virtues of the dead, wore alone the subjects of 
raise. The niilitary character of Egypt, with all her boas- 
id regularity of force and discipline, was never illustrious, 
Kcepting in the wars of Syria, and in the rfeign of Sesostris. 

Eg)pt early became the nursery of the arts and sciences ; 
1 these she excelled, and left it to all the nations who have 
icceeded her, to become only her imitators, and not even 
lat, in her pyramid^, hieroirlypl.ics, the art of embalming, 
id her wonderful cement. Gf^ometry was greatly improved 
I Egypt, by which means the *tudy of astronomy, which 
>mmenced upon tue plains of Babylon, was carried to great 
jrfection. 



60 ESyPTIAN ARTS AND AGRICULTURE. 

The medical art was rendered illustrious in Egypt, where 
it was reduced to a regular system, and every physician was 
by law confined to one disease only. If he treated this ac- 
cording to the prescribed rules, he was not held reponsible 
for the issue ; but if he nnade any new experiments, his own 
life was held responsible for the issue. 

The splendid libraries which were early founded in Egypt, 
sheiv their taste, and improvement in the sciences ; and the 
sacred dedication of these libraries, ** Oiffice for the diseases 
of the Soul," shews the reverence they attached to learning 
and their abhorrence of ignorance. 

The Egyptians excelled in architecture, painting, and sculp- 
ture ; but music never struck their attention ; they considered 
this as a useless art of efieminacy, and beneath their notice. 

Agriculture was the basis on which Egypt founded her 
greatness, it being the source of all her wealth. All employ- 
ments were ali&e respected in Egypt, from the king to the 
peasant ; and he who excelled in his profession, and in vir- 
tue, inherited the triumph of public applause. This diffused 
contentment, excited emulation, and raised every employ- 
ment to its highest perfection. 

The country of Egypt was greatly enriched by their hus- 
bandmen, who covered the whole face of this garden of the 
world, with their numerous flocks and herds. These consti- 
tuted the permanent wealth of their country. 

The soil that so richly rewarded the husdandmen, was not 
watered by rains as with us, but by the overflowiiig of the 
river Nile ; these innundations were conveyed by numerous 
canals over the whole face of the country, to fertilize the 
goil, which has rendered Egypt so famous for her corn, and 
give support to those vast flocks aad herds, which covered 
all her plains. 

The vegetation of Egypt was not peculiar to that country, 
excepting the papyrus, or plant which served them for paper: 
the rest was common to countries of the same climate, and 
continues so to this day. 

The government of Egypt supported a regular system of 
police, every department in the kingdom was conducted with 
the greatest order, regularity and wisdom ; and the voice of 
health and plenty, was heard in all (heir dwellings. 

The military art whs never highly cultivated in Egypt; 
Sesostris alone, carried his arms abroad beyond the plains of 
Syria. He subdued all tlie north of Africa, carried his arms 



F.GiPTlA&J CuNf^UESTS AND GOR-RUPTION. CI 

into India, 1491 years before Christ, and left monuments of 
his conquests in Asia Minor and Thrace. His dominions ex- 
tended from the Ganges to the Danube. Sesostris, at the 
end of nine years, returned into Egypt, enriched with the 
wealth and spoils of conquest ; but left those nominal con- 
quests as free as he found them. Sesostris flourished about 
the time of the departure of the Hebrews. 

These conquests of Sesostris opened the way for those 
colonies which passed into Greece at this time under Ce- 
crops, Danaus and Cadmus, who carried with them the arts 
and sciences of Egypt, and planted the first seeds of improve- 
ment and literature in Europe. 

The conquest of Sesostris, subverted the religion, habits, 
manners and customs of Egypt ; together with that tempe- 
rance, industry, sobriety and economy, which were the pil- 
lars of Egyptian greatness ; laid the foundation for all the 
future sufferings of Egypt, and brought her to fulfil the pre- 
diction of the prophet — '' Egypt shall become the basest of 
kingdoms." 

Soon after the death of Sesostris, commenced the reigns of 
Cheops and Cephrenus, who caused all the temples of reli- 
gion to be closed, nearly one whole century ; built some of 
the pyramids, prostrated religion and all the virtues ; and gave 
them.«elves up to all the excesses of licentiousness, cruelty 
and barbarity. The whole nation followed their example ; 
and Egypt, this nursery of the arts, this school of virtue and 
morals, this paragon of industry, temperance and sobriety, 
was now become a sink of iniquity, and every hateful lust. 

Such is the fate of all nations, as soon as they lose their 
virtue ; and the history of Egypt, as connected with the 
history of the Jews, together with the history of the four great 
empires, clearly shews, that she never recovered her virtue, 
religion, strength nor character ; all witness against her, 
that she became the basest of kingdoms even to this day. 



DENMARK. 

This kingdom was first established by Gormo, in the year 
714. The most distinguished part of the history of this king- 
dom, consists in its invasions and depredations upon the island 
of England. In the year 877, he Danes succeeded in the con- 
quest of the Saxons, and established Canute upon the throne , 

6 



ati DENMARK. 

In Oi'^O tho.y were f^xpf^llfd bv Alfred the great. In the year 
i)do the D^nes extorted a tribute (mm the Britons of 16,UU0/ 
to buy offthr-ir depredations. In 1002 the Danes broke tlie 
trenty, and by thoir renewed depredations, extorted from 
Ethelred II a tribute of 24,000/. In the year 14 12 Norway 
was united to Denmark. In the year 1521 the kingdom of 
Denmark was f-eparated from the kingdotn of Norway, and in 
16'>'0 tl]e rrovvn of Denma;k became hereditary. 

In the year 1394 the kingdom of S\\eder. was united by 
conquest to tlie crown of Denmark, and was sui ject to her 
until the year 1525, when Sweden recovered her liberty, un- 
der the illustrious Ga«tavus Vasa ; since which time, Den- 
mark ha? held a secondary rank amongst the nations of the 
north. In 1813 the kins:dom of Norway was severed from 
Denmark, and given to the crown prince of Sweden, by the 
confederated powers of Europe, where it now remains. 

The local situation of Denn.ark, gave her high and com- 
manding advantages, to become one of the first commercial 
and maritime nations of the world ; had not the jealousy and 
rival strength of England kept her down. In tlie year 1536 
the protestant religion was introduced into Denmark, and in 
1629 Christian the IV'. was chosen head of the protestant 
league against the house of Austria. 

It has been the policy of the late sovereigns of Denmark, 
to cultivate agood understanding with the throne of England 
by intermarriages, and the issue of such an alliance, now 
governs the kingdom of Denmark. Denmark still holds 
some possessions in the Indian oceaL, and upon the western 
shore of Africa ; she exercises a sovereignty over east and 
west Greenland, and a part of Lapland ; and holds some 
small possession;^ in the West indies. Denmark can never 
rise to eminence, being situated between the gigantic pewers 
of England and Russia. 

Such are the great outlines of all the kingdoms, states, and 
empires, which have ever been distinguished, either for 
their arts or their arms. To give a sketch of the minor 
states and isles, would swell this work to a needless ex- 
pense. 



(A.) GREECE. 
To record a faithful narrative of events, is one duty of a 



©PaGIN OF LETTERS IN GREECE. 63 

historian ; but to diffuse by his pen, the true spirit of the 
varioiH scenes, events, exploits, and achievements which he 
relates, is by far the most difficult and ioiportant part of his 
duty ; and is as ;ibsohitely necessary, to give spirit, interest, 
energy and instruction to his narrative, as for a musician, in 
his performance, to give expression to the piece he performs. 

To elfcct this, he must a-saaic the spirit of every scene, 
und every character, which become the s'lhj .;ct of his story. 
H'3nce the re ison why the history of Greece so far surpasses 
all others ; because those who were the heroes of her most 
splendid scenes, diffused the sa-Tie tire, and the same spirit, 
throughout the historic page of their country, and tanghtpos- 
terity to feel, what they had achieved. To preserve this 
fire, is ever essential to the preservation of the history of 
Greece. 

Grev^ce, which was situated in the south part (y{ what is 
now Turkey in Eiirope, we have already noticed, with re- 
gard to its origin, and extreme ignorance, in its early ages. 
The spkmdor of Greece in later a2;cB, which gave such lus- 
tre to the historic page, claims attention. The first settle- 
ment in Greece commenced about 2,000 years before 
Christ, and about 200 years after the building of Babylon by 
Nimrod. 

Letters were introduced into Greece by Cecrops, Cadmus, 
and the Egyptian colonies, in the reign of Sesostris, king of 
Egypt — about 1 500 years before Christ. • This first period of 
Grecian history, is only a picture of man in his most rude and 
savage state. The progress of letters, the arts and refine- 
ment, under the Egyptian colonies, were much slower than 
in Britain, after the conquest of Julius Cesar. The Egyp- 
tian colonies could only teach, they had not, like the Romans, 
the power to enforce their knowledge. 

The lim'ts of this work will not permit a separate detail of 
the founding, and progressive improvements of the several 
Grecian colonies, kingdoms, or states ; they must all be 
comprised under one general view. The first particular in 
Grecian history worthy of notice, is the expedition of the 
Argonauts to Colchis, after the golden fieece ; about 1200- 
years before Christ. The fleece, which was the object of 
this vogage, may well l)e called golden, by a people who 
were like the ancient Britons, either naked, or clad in the 
skins of animals, taken in the chase. This took place about 
300 years after Cecrops and Cadmus settled in Greece ; and 



W4 AR.GONAU'iJr. 

had this importance attached to it ; that it laid the loundu- 
tion of Grecian commerce and navigation, which afterwards 
became so conspicuous. 

The next important period in Grecian history, is the siege 
of Troy, about 900 years before Christ, and about 300 from 
the expedition of the Argonauts. This period of the last 300 
years, shews the rapid improvements the Greeks had made 
in letters, arts, and arms, by the strength of the city of 
Troy ; by the splendid display of arms during this ever 
memorable siege, of ten years ; and more particularly, in 
the unparalleled narrative of the Trojan war, by Homer, 
the father of epic poetry. All these combined, serve to 
shew t)>e power of letters, and of commerce, to expand the 
mind, elevate the soul, and exalt the character of man to the 
summit of his rational powers. 

The narrative of Homer, diffused a spirit of ambition and 
emulation, throughout the states of Greece ; which estab- 
lished the games of Olympia, about 200 years after the Tro- 
j«n war, and about 700 before Christ. It must not be under- 
stood, that these games originated in Greece at that time, 
they were in general comi^osed of such athletic exercises, 
as have ever been common to all new countries ; but they 
were reduced to system, and order, under that institution, 
and greatly enlarged, and improved. 

The exercises of these games, consisted in chariot races, 
foot races, &c. together with all such athletic exercises as 
were calculated to exert muscular strength, and dexterity ; 
inspire courage and emulation. So highly were the prizes 
of the Olympic games ef^timated, that even kings entered 
the lists, and sought with avidity the glory of an Olympic 
crown. 

From the commencement of the Olym.pic games, to the 
Peloponesian war, (which rendered Greece one theatre of 
carnage, about twent3''-tive years,) about 450 years before 
Christ ; a period of Grecian history was exhibited the most 
splendid of any other of her greatness. In this age flourish- 
ed, her greatest orators, heroes, statesmen, legislators, phi- 
losophers, and artists. 

In this period, Darius, king of Persia, after he had waged 
unsuccessfil war against the ancient Daci, (or Srythians of 
E.irope, north of the Danube,) turned his arms against 
Greece, and threatened Athens, with an army of 300,000 



GRECIAN WORTHIES. 0.' 

men under Datis. At this eventful period, flourished Ari--:ti- 
des, Pericles, Themistocles, and Miltirides, who saved Gieece 
by the overthrow of the Persians at (he famous hatde of Ma- 
rathon, destroyed their army, and gave peace to their country. 
At the commencement of this period, flourished Lycurgus, 
the renowned legishitor of Spaita,* and at the close of it, 
flourished Solon, ihe famous legislator of Athens ;t the wis- 
dom of whose institutions, (though very ditferent,) will ever 
remain memorable in the annals of Greece. Dunugthis pe- 
riod, and soon after the invasion of Darius, coifiOienced the 
invasion of Xerxes, which has been noticed. 

* Lycurgus, the renowned legislator of Sparta, travelled into Egypt, 
Palestine, and the countries of the east ; selected all that was useful, 
and virtuous, from their governments ; from Avhicti he formed a sys- 
tem of government for his country, perfectly simple, and practical. 
This government was Ibunded upon the purest principles of liberty, 
industry, temperance, patience, virtus, justice, and valour. It taught 
the most sovereign conte.npt of riches, idleness, luxury, e/Teaiinacy, 
cowardice, and sloth ; alike disclaimed the principles of ambition, and 
conquest; was sanctioned by the oracle of Delphos — rendered perma- 
nent by an oath of his country, to maintain the Constitution in his ab- 
sence, until he should return ; sealt-d by his voluntary banishment and 
death ; continued in successful opcKuIon about 500 years ; enabled 
Sparta to triurriph over Athens in the Pelopunesian war, and become 
the arbiter of G reece. 

The great maxim of the government of Lycurgus was, to perpetu- 
ate the laws, manners, customs, and habits of his country, without in- 
novatio!!, or change; and to enforce tiiis maxim, he sacrificed his life. 
The immortal Lycurgus did ail this, by a system of instruction which 
was incorporated into his goveinment. All Sparta was one great 
school ; and the maxims of his government, were the fundamental'prin- 
ciples of education. Practical knowledge, formed the wisdom of 
Sparta. 

t The difference of character between the Athenians and Spartans, 
was such as is common to statr'S which are agricultural and commer- 
cial. Sparta was agricultural, Athens commercial ; ihe seat of the 
muses and t'fie arts. Solon as the chief magistrate, or Archon of Ath- 
ens, attempted to reform her government, and reduce it to a more reg- 
ular and practical system. 

He divided Athens into two great classes, the rich and the poor. 
The rich he again divided into three classes, according to their de- 
grees of Vv?ealth ; all t'ioseoffive hundred measures, (annual income,) 
composed the first class ; thoss of three hundi'*ed the second ; and those: 
of two, the third; these made up the classes of the rich, and to thest: 
he confined all the public offices. 

All those whose incomes were less than two hundred, composed the 
class of the poor, fhese were debarred from office; but as a com- 
pensation, he left them the privilege of voting in the assemblies, and 

6* 



Oli DECLINE OF GREECE. 

The conflicts occasioned by the revolutions in the several 
states, in their struggles for power, between the tyrants, and 
the people ; between monarchy, aristocrRcy, and democracy, 
were often distressing and bloody. This people, with all 
their boasted wisdom, knew nothing of that balance of elec- 
tive government, which is the basis of English, and Ameri- 
can liberty. The conflicts between the rival states for su- 
premacy, (notwithstanding the Amphictyonic counsel, the 
Achean league, and other confederacies,) were often severe 
and desperate : but the Peloponesian war, which commenc- 
ed between the two great rival states, Lacedemon and Ath- 
ens involved all Greece in one great struggle, which raged 
twenty-five years, with all the violence of Grecian conflict, 
closed with the humiliation of Athens, destroyed their bal- 
ance of power, and established the supremacy of Sparta in 
Greece. 

From this time, Greece began to decline, became a t^"»ea- 
tre of weakness, intrigue, and disorder, amidst all the splen- 

judgments of the people. An appeal Avas open from the judgments 
of the magistrates, to the people, which finally placed the balance of 
power in (he hands of the poor, when they became the most numerous ; 
and they by their decisions gave law to the state. 

These principles, formed the great outlines of the government of 
Solon, and partook much less of the balance of power, so essential to 
good government, than the system of Lycurgus. Solon restored and 
improved the Areopagus, or high court of the nation, introduced many 
wise lavfs, and regulations, which were calculated to suppress indolencej 
and vice ; and encourage industry, virtue, and good order. 

He then, after tlie manner of Lycurgus, obtained an oath from his 
ountry, to observe his laws one hundred years ; and Avcnt abroad on 
his travels. At the end often years he returned, and found the Athe- 
nian state, torn with factions and civil wars, which his government had 
no power to control, and the personal efforts of Solon, no power to reg- 
ulate, or even check. 

Pisistratus, one of the competitors for pov;er, amidst the factions of 
his country, assumed the mask of meekness, and great humility, be- 
came the man of the people, robbed them of their liberties, and be- 
came the tyrant of Athens. Solon lived to see Pisistratus twice depos- 
t^d by the factions of his countr}"^, and died of old age ; leaving Athens 
under the dominion of the tyrant. 

This usurpation in Athens, caused the wars which followed between 
<ireece and Persia, , and rendered Greece a theatre of carnage, and dis- 
tress, for so many years, under the invasions of Darius, and Xerxes. 
The expulsion of the two great Persian invasions, shewed to Greece, 
what valour could achieve ; and the union of Greece, under the gov- 
ernment of Alexander, ?hcv/ed to the world, the strength and energies 
of a permanent government. 



RUIN OF GREEfeC. 67 

dor of her boasted refinement, and wisdom, under SocratcSj 
Plato and Aristotle, and all the'eloquence of Dt^.mosthenes, 
until she fell a prey to the intrigues of Philip king of Mrtce- 
don, and the arms of his son Al^^xander ; about 300 ypars 
before Christ. The conquests of Alexander produced the 
same etTe^ts upon Greece, as the conquests of Sesostris had 
done upon Eiiypt. With toisblow, her virtues were lost for- 
ever ; the aits and sciences continued to sink with her lib- 
erty, until the overthrow of the city of Corinth, by the 
Roman consul Muinmius. — This destroyed the Achean 
league. Greece was then blotted out of the list of nations, 
and became a Roman province; about 160 years before 
Christ. 

Tiie -trophies of Greece graced the triumphs of Rome, un- 
der her successive consuls. Greece became the theatre of 
Roman war, until Rome triutnphed over all the neighbouring 
powers, and carried her arms into the east. — Greece was a 
province until the year of our Lord 330, when the emperor 
Constantine transferred the seat of government from Rome 
to Byzantium, called it Constantinople, after his own name, 
and under the power and splendor of the Roman capital, the 
splendor of learning, and the arts, again flourished where 
Greece lay in ruins. 

The arm of despotism sat triumphant in the midst of that 
country, where liberty, Valour, patriotism, economy, indus- 
try, and frugality, with their attending virtues ; where wis- 
dom, philosophy, science and the arts, once shone with such 
perfect splendor, as rendered Greece the pride and admira- 
tion of the world. 

Her heroes slept in death, and witnessed not the distres- 
sing ^ene. Her legislators, philosophers, poets, orators, and 
artists were all hushed in repose, and witnessed not the ruins 
of their degraded country ; that country they had enriched 
and rendered so illustrious, by their wisdom, virtue, enter- 
prise and arms. But their iilustncus deeds are recorded in 
the temple of immortwl fame, and their names can never die. 

Rome held the dominion of Greece from the conquest of 
the consul Mummius, to the conquest of the Turks, in the 
year of our Lord 1430, about 1600 years, and Vv'ith the fall 
of her Grecian power at Constantinople, fell the last^^estige 
of the gigantic power of Rome. All that remained of Greece 
or Rome, is now lost in the dominion of the Turk. Virtue 



.ye. ^TT « ^^ ; b«it i^x«T. T ^rnsptioD. ewer * 

^e besa,£x« erer wilibe, the r- l:. 



iyef^n Christ.^ 

This re* *? we have 

*>?'!;-'?;. bj rLrea*, who 

^£^i: fr?!i. Li i^ix. Tbe pe- 

br 2 of Rome, 

t:^^ ._-. ._ ^^ - - : .- . .r^ --.^^ from the 
irrTTiTen^i:'? ;f tieir c::r.:rT. in art*, aod in ?.ri2«. most 
fiA»€ fiTec the f*o:i;ac rcl-i^v ?»jcii e -'■ -*.':? orer 

acqmrei a: --- - - - "^ Tit 

ate tfe€*g a.: = - 1 v. 

i<yU2^-ed the ci: :- 

tia»of Trcv. a^i ^d.:; -ir-ri, Tf^.i 

Foe tLe§»>C'i zF-x^^^^^-^'^* '^fh - -j'^'- *^e «*« •-r^tc,^ ^ s^fj^te 

or cf^aixil, of srrde: : r 



Tppotti 
•a ot'tist 

:tof fe»v lu* aiT ; and to ti»ffi 

: asd ci . _^er? to ^ttJe io it- 

TidciiieL- - CO ictrif-s, ivcre^ed the 

faSert^^. ;.- '- To ohfihte this, 

Greciass 533»e? ii - chj, a»5 2:ave a 

"^ * • -' . r . JO tbe iiiiin of 

f: sabiae womea. and 

- 'V r % 760. 

-T fa a war. wfci'!h 







r^h^3«-^R5? 






70 BOMAN GOVERNMENT. 

The objpct of thi? office, was to be a check upon the dic- 
tator and s; nutc ; this so^n failed, and they chose military 
tribiices a« a ^ut)r«titute for the old otfice of consuls. This 
coTstinned two years, and was then abolished and the office 
of consuls restored. 

During these changes in the government, Rome was har- 
assed by perpetual wars, with the Gauls, and various other 
neighborinir nations, particularly the Samnltes, ivho were the 
most poiverful and warlike of all the tnbes of Italy. These 
nations often distressed the Roman state, and carried their 
victorious arms to the gates of Rome. 

The wars o( Rome, had hitherto beon carried on for the 
defence of the statf*., or military glory, by voluntary service ; 
they first began to pay their troops about the year, 400. 

The office of consul did not abridge the powers of the sen- 
ate ; they were as independent of each other, as in the times 
of the kings ; and th<^ consuls were kings at the will of the 
people ; the consuls led the armies, and the senate govnrned 
the state ; but the comitia or general assemblies of the j)eople, 
held all the power in their own hands, both of peace and war, 
and through their tribunes, they held the two great springs of 
government in their hands — rewards and punishments. They 
held at their disposal all the offices of state, and all were 
amenable to the people for their conduct. I'he consuls 
were the executive, the senate th.e legislative, and the peo- 
ple the electors and arbiters of the whole. Here was energy, 
wisdom and folly, all so copomixed, as to create perpetual 
jealousy, discord and collision between the government and 
the people, and occasion those frequent changes, which the 
true balance of the federal constitution of America, so wisely 
regulates and controls. 

Poverty was not only respected at Rome, as may be seen 
in the appointment of Cincinnatus the dictator ; but it made a 
part of their policy, in using heav'y money of brass, in imita- 
tion of the Spartan iron money ; .vhich continued to be the 
money of Rome, until they carried theirarms into Sicily, in 
the first Panic war ; they then found it necessary to coin sil- 
ver money. 261. 

The virtue and simplicity of manners in the Roman state, 
were the palladium of the liberty of Rome. The censors 
were the immediate guardians of tLis palladium ; this office was 
generally filled by those, whose virtues had held the first 
dignities of the state, with the highest approbation ; this oSice 



KOMA.N GOVERNMENT. 71 

protected virtue and suppressed vice and immorality, even 
in the iiigiiest wMlks oflj'c, uitli a severity that preserved 
tiie Roman virtue pure. oGO. 

Tiie praetors composed the judiciary of the state ; the 
ediles uero more immediately ihe magistrates of the city ; 
the two officfs became of hii;h iniportanco, and in after times 
the medium of ambition and power. The struggle?* between 
the government and the people, shewed the want of a mid- 
dle state, to rt^gulate these feuds. 

The equefitiian order, held this rank in some measure, 
not by any delegated powers, but by the inflaence which 
their wealth, dignity and importance gave them in the com- 
munity ; and when united with tiie patricians, they checked 
and controlled the licentiousness of tiie populace. Thus a 
partial substitute for the true balance in the government, 
grew out of the necessity of things, and the virtue of the state, 
formed the grand cement to the whole ; these combined with 
a high military spirit and ardor, together with the greatness 
and nobleness of the Roman soul, raised the Roman state 
from a single point, amidst perpetual struggles in arms, to 
become the mistress of the world. 

Amidst all the guardians of Roman greatness and Roman 
virtue, stood woman ; she by her smiles, or her frowns, 
moved the arbiter of manners, of morals, and of virtue ; by 
the dignity and majesty of her character, commanded the 
admiration and respect of all classes and ranks of citizens ; 
and by the splendor of her virtues, gave a lustre to the Ro- 
man name. Nothing in Rome, was held more sacred than 
the majesty of woman. Such was the character of the Ro- 
man matrons, that it stands recorded to their eternal honor, 
that not one single divorce, stained the marriage covenants 
of Rome, for more than five hundred years after the days of 
Romulus. 

Rome in her infancy, thus having laid the foundation of 
her greatness, was soon visited by the philosophers ofGreece, 
Pythagoras and others, who introduced the Grecian Mythol- 
ogy, which deitied all the virtues, gave them the first rank in 
their temples, and thus perpetuated their value by their re- 
ligious adoration. 

The religious homage paid to the virtues, perpetuated the 
purity of the state, as their s[)lendid triumphs perpetuated the 
lustre of their arms. Trained in this school of temperance, 
and the virtues, the Roman armies, from the consul to the 
soldier, carried to the field a Roman soul warmed with Ro- 



72 P.OMAN GOVERNMENT. 

man greatness and valor, and never once drearaed that they 
could sheath the sword, until they had executed the decrees 
©f the senate. 

Rome began the seconrl war with Carthage, 218. 

And the third Punic war, 149. 

- Carthage was destroyed by Scipio the Roman consul, 146. 

Marius the consul obtained the Roman triumph, with the 
conquest and spoils of Numidia, and her captive prince, 103. 

These were the days of virtue — these were the days in 
which Rome, under tne consular arms, subdued all Europe, 
south of the Danube, from the Atlantic on the west, to the 
Hellespont on the east. These were the days in which 
Pompey the great, rescued his country from the civil wars of 
Marius and Sylla, carried his arms into Asia, and after long 
and distressing conquests, dedicated to his triumphant coun^ 
fry, the whole extent of the states and kingdoms, between the 
Black Sea on the north, and the Red Sea on the south, 
broufijht Mithridates and Tigranes, the greatest monarchs of 
Asia, to submit to the Roman arms, and settled the dominion 
of the East. At the head of his victorious legions, he did 
homage to the laws of his country, resigned his authority and 
again became a private citizen, about the year, 60. 

The subversion of Roman liberty under Cesar, we have 
noticed, also the glorious reign of Augustus, the first emperor, 
the fatal effects of the division of the empire, by Constantine, 
and the final overthrow that followed the loss of Roman vir= 
tue,and the corruption of Roman manners. 

So long as the Roman virtues and simplicity of manners 
remained, so long Roman wisdom and the public good, sup- 
plied the place of a balance of power in the government ; the 
lolly of the populace, was controlled by the wisdom and vir- ' 
tue of the senate, and the energies of the consuls, suppoited 
the glory of the state. When Carthage had fallen, and with 
her all fears of a rival ; when the wealth and luxury of Asia, 
with the r- finements of Greece, flowed into Rome, and cor- 
rupted her mnnners and morals, by changing public respect 
for virtuous poverty, into the admiration of licentious wealth ; 
then money supplanted all the virtues, bribery and corrup- 
tion followed, the folly of the populace overpowered the 
wisdom of the senate, the consular energies were turned 
against the liberties of Rome, Cesar triumphed over Pompey, 
and this mighty government, which had given law to ^he 
world, fell under the rod of a despot. 



BESTRUCTION OP ROME. 73 

Rome in the midst of her corruption could boast of her 
Catulus, LentuUie, Cotta ; her Hortensius, Calvus and Ci- 
cero ; her Metellus, and Lucullus ; her Pompey and Cato ; 
but her virtue was gone, her morals were gene, and above 
all, the majesty of woman was gone ; the smiles, or the 
frowns of this key of virtue, no longer rewarded the pure 
and controlled the corrupt. With the fall of wrraan, fell the 
manners of Rome ; and elegance, purity and refinement, 
were swallowed up in luxury, eifeninacy, dissip<ition and 
corruption. Wisdom, eloquence, manners and morals, with 
the R©man virtues, and Roman liberty, all fell a prey to all 
conquering luxury, and corrupt ambition in regular succes- 
sion, until in the fifth century they were swallowed up, with 
Rome herself in the deluge of northern barbarism. 



SKETCHES OF 

UNIVERSAL HISTORY 

PART SECOND, 

PROM THE REVOLUTION OF THE WESTERN ROMAN 

EMPIRE 410, TO THE YEAR I8l8 

OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA. 

CHAP. I. 

Revolution of the Western Boman Empire-y-character of the 
Barbarians — laws of division and tenure of their spoil — - 
character of the Roman Religion — Religion of the Barbari- 
ans — character of the dark ages — origin of the feudal system. 

The luxuries ofthe Roman empire, with all their train of 
efff'minary and corruption, which followed their conquests 
in the east, swept away that Roman valour, which had shone 
so couspiciious in the davs of Fahius, Scipio and Cesar, and 
opened the way for the sribversion of the western empire, 
in about one century after Constantine the emperor, removed 
the governmerit to Byzantium, or Constantinople. 

The noithern barharians, who inhabited the regions of 
Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden aiid Norway ; (all 
then one vast uncultivated forest, thinly peopled with a race 
of men in a state of nature, much like the Aborigines of 
North America,) lived wandering lives, without letters and 
the arts. The people, who inhabited G<;rn;any, had been 
harassed by the Romans, in their conquests under Julius 
Cesar, and treated with that severity the Romans were ac- 
customed to bestow upon such barbarians as they v/ere re- 
solved to tame to their submission. 

These barbarians took advantage of this weak, and divided 
state of the Roman empire, to revenge the wrongs, which 
they had suffered from Roman invasions, and began their dfi- 
predations in the year 410, under Alaric. 

One success encouraged and invited another, as wave fol- 
lows wave, until the whole northern wilderness was in mo- 



ilOMAN REVOLUTiOiV. -1 

tion, and the various tribt^s of Goths, Vandals, Visigoths, 
Arm?, Suevi, Lc. ni.^hed hke a toiTent down upon the Ro- 
mans, sprc^a-liiiii; carnage, desolation and destruction, tlu'ough 
the tine«t provinces. 

This torrent raged, untii Attila with his linns, from the 
shores of the F.uxine sea, sacked Rome, overwhehned Italy, 
and destroyed every vestige of th'i Roman government in the 
west, togethi^r with the arts and sciences, manners and cus- 
toms of the Romans; exterminated the Roman population, 
and planted their barbarous iiordes i7pon its ruins. 

At the first of the sixth century, the Goths and Franks 
were possessed of Gaul ; the Ostrogoths and Huns of Italy 
and Pannonia ; the Visigoths of Spain ; and the Saxons of 
Britain. New laws, languages, manners, customs, dresses 
and even names of men, things and countiies, produced » 
total change in the western Roman Cinpire. 

The obj-'ct of this pnrt of our work, is to shew the evils 
that resulted from this change ; and the ultimate gooj which 
hfv result'.^d from those evils ; and to unfold the wisdom of 
the divine plan in subverting the despotic idolatry and cor- 
ru[)tion of the Roman state, to open the way for the religioa 
of the gospel, and the triumph of the '' kingdom of the stone, 
which shoiijd be cut out of tb.e mountain without hands, be- 
come a great mountain and fill the whole earth/' Daniel ii. 
34. 35. 

Terrible as was this revolution in its ravages, effects and 
consequences ; it has long well been understood, that the 
good of the world required the subversion of the corrupt, 
bloody, despotic and idolatrous government of Rome, al- 
though notSiing, but a special miracle of God, short of this 
northern exterminating revolution, could have eilected the 
change. 

'J'he barbarians treated with derision and contempt every 
mark of Roman splendor, elegance and grandeur, as the de- 
basing caiises vvhicii rendered the R-omans so easy a conquest, 
and planted their own barbarous customs upon their niins, 
as the great instruments of promoting that valoui', which had 
been the immediate cause of all their triumphs. 

To enforce this contempt upon the rising generation, they 
erected a cottag?. upon the ruins of a palace, and caused the 
vanquished to be fed with elegance, while they partook of 
their rustic fare in their rustic form, seated tipon the ground. 
The religion of the two groat parties was idolatry ; but dif- 
feriag according to their difference of refinement. 



76* JUPITER AND WODEN. 

Jupiter, the god ofthe Roman?, presided over the universe, 
h^ld the balance* of event?, and ruled the destinies of men ; 
by the thunderbolts of heaven, enforced obedience to his 
laws, and took vengeance on his enemies. Mars, one ofthe 
lesser deities, wielded the sword ; rewarded with victory 
the arm of the valiant, and humbled the refractory, avari- 
cious, licentious and effeminate, as trophies ofthe victors ; 
whilst Apollo, the god of wisdom, directed the councils of 
the virtuous and wise. 

These, with a hoit of others, were the gods of the Romans, 
but Woden, the god ofthe barbarians, was a god ofvengeance, 
who sanctioned all that exterminating' malice, which blott'id 
out the Roman name in the we«t ; presided over the judicial 
combats and civil wars, which drenched Europe in blood, 
through the dark ages, of nearly 1000 years ; until ferocity 
itpelf was glutted with carnage ; and the sons of these sires, 
under the benign influence of the gospel, received a polish 
from the revival of letters ; and savage man, was again en- 
robed in humanity from the improvement of those arts, whi':h 
their fath«>rs had rendered the victims of their vengeance, 
and pscriiiced to Woden their god. 

Although popery arose out of this tempestuous sea of igno- 
rance and bftrbarity ; yet popery with all its corruptions, wa« 
better than the mythology of idolatrous Rome ; it laid the 
foundation for the display of the angel ofthe gospel in the re- 
formation, under the immortal Luther, and opened the way 
for the kingdom ofthe stone, which shall fill the whole earth, 
through the millennial period, and consummate to man all 
the blessings ofthe future promises. 

The genius ofthe government of these barbarians, was 
liberty and equality ; he who was most alert in the chase, 
most hardy in toils, and most valiant in war, became their 
chief ; and this was common to all the clans. Their division 
of conquest and plunder was by lot, according to their differ- 
ent shares, from the chiefs to the soldier ; and the tenure of 
their property was a tenure of force. 

One example may serve to illustrate this fact. " When 
the Franks, had taken a large silver vase from a certain 
church, a petition was sent to Clovis, their chief, that he 
would restore that silver vessel to its sacred use. When 
they were about to divide the spoil, Clovis requested that 
that vase might be given to him separately, before the di- 
vision : to which all consented but one soldier, who struck 



FEUDAL SYSTEM. t * 

the vase with his war club, and exclaimed, *' there shall be 
no division here but by lot ;" and it was conclusive. 

In this stiteof things, propcity became a curse instead ofa 
blessing ; the weak with their shares fell a sacrifice to the 
strong ; this led the common people to the chiefs for justice 
and protection, who in their turn seized on their estates, 
when it suited their humor or interest ; others, to avoid 
these distresses, yielded up their shares to the chiefs for 
protection, and became their vassals. Thus from the ne- 
cessity of things, the chiefs obtained what they could not pro- 
tect, for the want of legal and coercive power, to restrain 
such a state of weakness, licentiousness and anarchy. 

The same acts of violence and oppression, which destroy- 
ed the liberties, persons and properties of the common peo- 
ple, were common among the chiefs ; these made war and 
committed depredations upon each other, as suited their lusts, 
ambition or resentments ; this led them to the king for re- 
dress ; his decisions, and the common safety, administered a 
partial remedy for a time ; but the chiefs exercised the most 
despotic sway over their subjects ; they were considered 
and held, as the property of the chiets upon their estates ; 
were bought and sold like cattle, either separately or col- 
lectively, with estates, and even matrimony and their child- 
ren were at the disposal of the lords. This gave rise to, 
and supported the system of government, called the feudal 
system. 

This was the military system which subjected the property 
of the chiefs with all their vassals, to the controul of the 
king, for the defence of the nation, and the public weal. — This 
system became common to all these clans or kingdoms ; was 
the source of all their horrors, through the dark ages, and 
from which they all emerged by the same causes, and pro- 
gressed up to their present state of civil refinement. 



CHAP. II. 

Clovis — character of his rei^n — distracted state of the Franks 
• — Mayors of the palace — reis^n of Pepin — Charles Muriel 
"^Leavigild — Ecclesiastical power — Mahouiet — Saracens — 
situation of Spaiji . 

Ln our first part, we touched upon the origin of the Frank':, 
7 ^ 



'<^ CLOVIS AND CLOTILDA^ 

under Pharamond and Clovis, sufficiently to shew the con 
nection, which laid the foundation, as well as future support 
of the pap;il t^irone. We noticed th?it Pharamond led hi? 
Franks out of Germany, over the Pthine, and settled in Gaul ; 
which was at this time shared by the Romans, the Gauls, Vi- 
sigoths, and Burgundi. 

Clovis, his successor, at nineteen years of age, obtained a 
decided victory over Syagrius, a Roman despot, and estab- 
lished the kingdom of the Franks in 486. He secured the 
fruits of this victory by his marriage with Clotilda, niece of 
Gondabaud king of Burgundy, ^nd thereby opened a way 
through the pious instrumentality of the queen, of winning 
the affections of the Gauls, by favouring their bishops,, and 
flatteririg their religion ; and actually led all his people into 
the christian religion, by his own example. 

Clovis, through the instrumentality of Clotilda, was bap- 
tized by the bishop of Rheims in 496, and the whole nation 
followed his example. 

Clovis, like his queen, was a catholic ; hut the Visigoths 
and Burgundians were Arians ; this opened the way for Clo- 
vis to make the most of his religion ; and under the sanction 
of the Gallic clergy, who were catholics, he drew his sword 
upon Alaric, king of the V^isigoths, and by a desperate battle 
near Poictiers, expelled Alaric, and added the province of 
Aquitaine to his kingdom. 

The religion of Clovis, like all other religions of policy, 
convenience or interest, without the feelings and sine ;-itv of 
the heart, sunk under the full tide of his successes, and he 
fell a prey to dissipation, perfidy, licentiousness and cruelty. 
Clovis exhibited one more specimen of a corrupt religion, 
which has been followed by thousand.-, and tens of thousands 
of apostates, from that day to this ; he attempted to atone for 
his oorruptions and cruelties, at his death, by building and 
endowing churches and religious cloi-t-'is, aid attempting to 
regul.-!te church discipline, xvhich might restrain the licentious 
hereafier. 

The kingdom of Clovis was founded upon the rights of con- 
quest and a corrupt religion ; and upon his death, passed 
under the dominion of his four sons, which laid the foundation 
for all the horrors of tho.^e barbarous murders, assassinations 
and cruelties, which follo?;ed ; imtil Clotair, by the death of 
the others, again united the crown of France, and transmitted 
it to his four sons, in d62. 



CHiLrERIC AND FRE»EGONDA. 7i5 

The horrors of the first division, had taught nothing from 
Experience, to this barbarous age : and the consequences re- 
sulting from the second, were nr^ore fatal than those of the 
first, i'he barbarities and cruelties of these murderoii-? 
scenes, were greatly increased by the vindictive malice of the 
two rival queens, Brunechilchi and Fredogonda, who made 
every form of treachery subservient to their passions of ri- 
valry and dominion ; until the princes were all exterminated, 
and France again unit.d under Clotair li. son of Chilperic 
and Fredegonda, in 613. 

He restored tranquillity by laying aside his ambition, insti- 
tuting anew oilice of the nature of viceroy, called mayor of 
the palace ; who gov«?rned wiih an intluence much like the 
prinie ministers of the courts of Europe at this day. In this 
capacity fopi;.', duke of Austratia, governed France twenty- 
eight years. Pepin died in b*56, and left his authority to 
Plectru<le, his widow, who became regent in office to her 
grandson, then an ijifarit, who was created mayor. 

Charles Martel, natur.d son of Pepi?), was imprisoned by 
Plectrude, to suppress his a.nbifion. Charles escaped her 
power, seized in 732 on the mayorality of Australia, and the 
people supported his claims ; in capacity of Duke of France, 
governed France. 

Upon an invasion of the Saracens, he repelled them by a 
desperate battle, and compelled them to take refuge in Spain. 
His son Pepin succeeded to \he government, assumed the 
title of king, to the utter exclusion of the descendants of Clo- 
vis, or the Merovingian race, and was crowned and anointed 
kino:, by St. Boniface, bishop ofxMentz, in 752. 

During these operations in France, the Visigoths founded 
a kingdom in Spain, upon the fuins of a part of the kingdoms 
of the Vandals and Suevi. There the powers of the clergy 
soon surpassed the povvers of the kings, they introdsiced a 
spiritual tyranny into Spain ; the bishops became the judges, 
and when united with the nobles, held the crown at their dis- 
posal. 

Under this order of things, Spain was a thertre of in- 
trigues, assassinations", crimes, bigotry, cruelty and blood. — 
Leovigild, the champion of Spain, who subdued the Suevi, 
put to death his son Hermenegild, because he was a catholic, 
and would not become an Arian. This persecution between 
the Catholics and Arians, extended to the Jews, who were 



88 CRUELTIES FN SPAIX. 

compelled to receive baptism upon p-iin of death, in the 
reign of Sisebut, one of the succeissors of Leovigild. He 
subdued the Visigoths, added all Spain to his dominions, with 
some part of Gaul, and Mauritania. Chintilla, his successor, 
banished the Jews, and enforced with rigor all the laws against 
that people. 

Under the succeeding reign, the bishops, with the palatines, 
or great officers of the crown, assumed the election of the 
kings to the exclusion of the nobility, and they declared 
Wamba, (the champion of Spain against the Saracens,) to be 
excluded from the throne, because he had worn the habit of 
a penitent, when labouring und^^rthe effects of poison ; and 
at the same time, they decreed the {>enalty of damnation to 
anykin:^, who should marry a king's widow. 

A civil war sprang up in the reign of VVitiza, in consequence 
of the debauchery and corruptions of this prince, who was 
dethroned by Roderiquejn 710; he. in his turn, fell a sac- 
rifice to those Saracens, whose rise, progress, and conquests 
we noticed in the first part, under Mahomet, the apostate 
apostle of Mecca, in Arabia. This invasion was imputed to 
the intrigues of Count Julian, to revenge on Pioderiqus the 
dishonour he had occasioned his injured d-iUiihter. This 
insult divided and distrart'^d Spain, and rendered the con- 
quest of the S'.iracens easy and permanent. 

Appas, archbishop of Seville, joined the Saracens, to re- 
venge the insult ; but Paleologus, a prince of the royal blood 
in 717, fled to the mountyirs of Asturias, and fo^mded a chris- 
tian kingdom which he transmitted to his posterity. 

Tbe wretched governm.iat of the Moors in Spain, was 
bent upon nothing but avarice, and plunder ; this, to^rether 
with their civil wars, rendered Spain the theatre of crimes, 
wrf»tchednei!S, strife, carnao:e and u«;urpation ; in the midst of 
these struggles, the Mahometan religion triuj.»phed over the 
cl'.risitiin ; and a bloody revolution ii the superior mahome- 
tan sects estabhshed the triujnph, and dominion of the sect 
of the Ah i<!-sides, over the Amiades, and settles! the usurpa- 
tions of Spain. 

At (his time. Abdurrahman, or Almanzor the groat, fixed 
the Saracen government at Cordova, as his capital, and ren- 
dered it the theatre of t!)e arts, of le^an^e, and pleasure ; 
and by depriving the bishops of their power, with ^hoir liv- 
ings, and by pronoting intermarriages between the different 



KINGDOM OF ALMANSOR. 81 

sects, hp roote(^ out Christianity, without violence ; and led 
all parties into new scenes of luxury, excesses and pleasures, 
tos^ethar with elesjance, r^^finement of manners, which shone 
with the more brilliance and splendor, in the midst of the 
thick darkness, of ignorance, superstition, and barbarism, 
which surrounded them. 

We have thus paved the way for a correct knowledge of 
the successive events, which followed upon this dark, and 
distressing theatre of Europe ; a theatre pregnant with 
events more horrid, vile and corrupt, than ever before 
blackened the history of man ; a theatre on which ignorance, 
bigotry and superstition, commixed with ambition, avarice and 
lust of domination, aided with all the concomitant vices, in the 
extreme, with all the distressing evils and calamities which 
followed in their train, reigned triumphant, and rendered it 
one successive tragedy of carnage and blood, for more than 
©ne thousand years : the effects of which still remain, and 
continue to distract thiii devoted country ; even down to 
these later ages of the world, and amidst all the improve- 
ments of religion, literature, jurisprudence, the arts, and 
oivil reiinenient. 



CHAP. III. 



General affairs of Italy — rise of Popery — Pepin supports the 
Pope— state of Britain — origin of the Anglo Saxons — Wit- 
ienagemot or elective government, 

Italy was now divided between the emperors of Constan- 
tinople, and the Lombards, or Longobards ; and opened a 
field for ambitious wars : these the folly of the emperor Leo 
Isauricus, soon gave rise to, by attempting to abolish the 
worship of images, in Italy, as he had done in the eastern 
empire : this inflamed the populace at Ravenna, against the 
exarch, when he began to pull down the images, and caused 
an insurrection. 

Luitprand, king of the Lombards, (a race of Goths who ex- 
pelled the Ostrogoths from Italy,) seized this favorable mo- 
ment to extend his dominioni, marched to Ravenna, laid 
siege to, and took it by storm, and gave it up with all its goth- 
ic wealth, to the plunder of his army, ia 728. This struck a 



Z-Z LEO, LUITPRAND, AND GREGORY II. 

general terror into the cities of Italy, and they submitted to 
Luitprand. 

The edict of Lpo the emperor, against ima^e worship, (to- 
gether with the overwhelming power of Ltiitpr md.) alarmed 
the bishop of Rome, then Gregory II. ; he applied to Urpus, 
duke of Venice, for assistance ; who accepted the overture, 
equipped a fleef, pat th^ exarch of Ravenna, (who had li«d 
to Venice for succor,) at his head, and recovered luivenna, 
in the abst^nce of Luitprand. 

Eur agf^d .it this ste}) of the bishop of Rome, Loo the empe- 
ror recalle(! the exarcii, sent a succeirsor with orders to de- 
st-oy the bishop, seize liim, and send him in chains to Con- 
stantinople. 

Here commenced the struggle that fixed the paf>al power. 
"Crego^y II. excommunicated the new exarch ; Luitprand 
turned his arms to the assistance of the pope ; the citizens 
of Ravenna rose, murdered the exarch, and iW his abettors, 
or image breakers ; the duke of Naples shared the same fate ; 
and the citizens of Rome rallied round the pope, and with- 
drew their alleiriance from the emperor Leo, in 730. 

Fired with indignation at this outrage on his authority, the 
emperor s»^nt apowerlul army into Italy to subdue the reb- 
els. T''e pope at the same tim-^ sought aid fr om France, and 
sent ambassadors to Charles Martel, who gladly received 
them, and became the protector of the church, in 731. 

During these pr( parations, Gregory II. died, and was suc- 
ceeded by Grego yllL The emperor Leo died soon after, 
and was succeeded by his son Constantine Copronymi'.s, who 
followed the steps of his fjther. In 741, di»'d Charles Mar- 
tel, who was succeeded by Pepin ; and also Gregory III. 
who was succeeded by Z ichary. Luitprand resigned to 
Zacliary all the cities taken from the Roman see, and he died, 
in 7'13, ami was succeeded by Rachis, who confirmed the 
peace with Z-.ichary ; but soon broke it and invaded the Ro- 
man states. 

Instead of drawing the sword, the pope went in person to 
the camp of Rachis, and by his address, persuaded him to 
sheath his sword, renounce his crown, do him homage as his 
spiritual father, and r^-tire to a convent in the habit of St. 
Benedict, in 750. By tiie influence of Zachary , Pepin, may- 
or of the p J tce of France, was raised to the throne, and 
anointed king by St. Boniface, bishop of Mentz, in 752. 

Thus was laid the foundation of the papal throne ; the 



ZACHARY AND PEPIN. 83 

succeeding narrative will show, how this stupenduos super- 
strnctare was raised. Astulphus the successor of Rachis in 
Lo;ubar«ly, aimed at the dominion of Italy, he subdued Raven- 
na and Pentapolis ; marched towards Rome, and demanded 
the submission of all the dukedom. This alarmed Stephen 
III. then upon the papal throne, and he again applied to 
Franc for reli-^f. 

Pepin, now firmly seated on the throne of Clovis, sent 
two aiubrtssadois to conduct his holiness into France, where 
he concluded a treaty ; Stephen anointed Pepin anew, with 
holy unction, and his two sons, Charles and Carloman — de- 
claring eacii of them Romanorum Patricius ; and Pepin, in 
return, guaranteed Ravenna and Pentapolis, to the pope nr 
holy see, marched his army into Italy, compelled Astulphus 
to restore his conquests, established the pope in the chair, 
and returned into France. 

When the rod was withdrawn, Astulphus again invaded the 
papal dominions ; and Pepin, upon renewed solicitations from 
the pope, again marched liis army into Italy, and restored 
the sovereignty of the pope, and Astulphus again took refuge 
in Pavia. Alarmed at this state of events in Italy the empe- 
ror Constantine, applied by his ambassadors, to Pepin, for a 
restoration of the exarchate, and Pentapolis, to the empire ; 
to which Pepin replied, "that it had belonged to the Lombards 
by the laws of conquest, that it belonged to him by the same 
right, and that under his authority he had given it to St. Peter, 
to preserve the purity of the catholic faith, and this he was 
ready to seal with the last drop of his blood." 

Pepin pressed Astulphus in Pavia, by a close siege, and 
compelled him for his own safety, to relinquish all his con- 
quests, and put the pope in possession of Cotnmachio, the 
strong fortress of Italy. Pepin conferred upon pope Steph- 
en, and his successors, forever, the exarchate, Pentapolis, 
(now Marca D'Ancona.) Emilia, (now Romagna,) with all 
the cities therein, retaining only the ideal superiority of 
Patriciu'i Romanorum, (or protector of the Roman people.) 
Thus the keys, and scejftie, were united to the papal chair by 
Pepin. 

Popin, equally respected in France, and in Germany, as ia 
Italy, died in 768, in the fifty-fourth year of his age, and sev- 
enteenth of his reign, and h?ft his kingdom to his two sons 
Charles and Carlornan. We have now brought forward the 
kingdoms of France, Spain and Italy, to the commencement 



84 ROMANS AN© BRlTONS. 

of the reifijn of Charlemagne, we will now bring forward the 
kingdom of England to the same period. 

The Romans hel] possession of Britain from the invasion 
of Julius Cesar, (iifty years before Christ) to the invasion of 
the Roman Empire by the northern nations 450, about five 
centiiries. No instance occuri on the page of history, of a 
people so brave, that have been so much harassed as the Brit- 
ons. When the Romans had witiidrawn tlieir legions for 
their own defence, the divided state of Britain rgain opened 
the scenes of discord, rapine, and war ; they airain applied for 
aid to the Romans, again rebuilt the Roman wall of Antoni- 
us, between the Friths of Forth, and Clyde, to check the 
ravages of the Picts and Scots. Who these daring adventur- 
ers descended from, is no more known, than who the Irish 
or Britons descended from ; doubtless all from the stock of 
Japhet, under diflferent leaders, the same as the nations on 
the continent. 

During the ravages of Attilla, with the Huns, in the Roman 
empire, the Picts and Scots, took advantage of the absence 
of the Roman legions, crossed the Frith of Forth, and broke 
over the wall, laying waste the country, with nre and sword. 
The wretched Britons addressed a letter to their former 
masters, (the Romans,) for aid, in this style, " Driven by the 
barbarians into the sea, and forced by the sea back upon the 
barbarians ; we know not which way to turn from the choice 
of two deaths." The Romans could give them no assistance, 
and left them to the consolation of the christian religion, 
which they had embraced long before. 

Driven to despair by these barbarous savages, some who 
escaped the sword, fled into Gaul, and settled a province, 
which they called Britanny ; some submitted to the con- 
querors, some fled into the woods and mountains, where 
they dwelt secure, and whence they often sallied forth upon 
the foe, and took desperate" revenge for the wrongs they had 
suffered. 

Thus harassed and distressed, they invited over the Sax- 
ons, from the heart of Germany, to secure the peace of the 
Island. These people sprang from what is now called Jut- 
land, and had acquired by conquest, the greater part of Ger- 
many, together with Holland, and Zealand. Flushed with 
the successes of their arms, they readily obeyed the call, and 
sent a small fleet, with about 1600 troops, under the com- 
mand of two brother chiefs, Hengist and Horsa, descendants 
of their god Woden, in 450. 



liRlTONS AND SAXONS. o- 

The Britons hailed them as their deliverers ; and soon saw 
the Picts aiid Scots, driven aj^ain into their native wilds. In- 
terest is the ruling passion in the heart of man ; the Britons 
rejoiced to see themselves freed from the Picts, and Scots, 
the Saxons rejoiced to find how easy a conquest such a peo- 
ple as the Britons, might hecome to their arms. 

Pleased with the fertility of the soil, they sent to their 
brethren, to come over and join in the conquest of the Isl- 
and : this they readily accepted, and a strong force embark- 
ed, and landed in Britain ; here opened a scone too horrible 
to relate ; suffice it to say, that after a succession of severe, 
and desperate conflicts, the Britons were not only subdued, 
but almost exterminated ; and the Saxons became masters 
of the island ; until prince Arthur arose ; he gave relief ta 
such of his countrymen as had escaped the murderous sword, 
and fled to the mountains and forests for safety : collected 
a band of these fugitives^ fell upon the Saxons at Badon 
Hill, in 620, and gained sush a victory, as gave relief to the 
Britons about forty years. Fresh invaders having passed 
over from Germany, from time to time, the Britons were 
finally subdued ; excepting such as fled (o the mountains of 
Cornwall and Wales, where they dwelt securely under their 
own governments. 

As soon as the common enemy was subdued, the Saxons 
divided the country into seven independent sovereignties, 
called the Saxon Heptarchy, united under one head ; these 
held a general elective council, called Wittenagemot,^ or gen- 
eral assembly, to consult, and determine on the affairs of the 
general good. 

CHAP. III. Continued. 

The Saxon heptarchy was the basis on wliich th-s laws of 
England, and of course, English and American liberty, were 
founded. Their Wittenagemot, or council of wtse men, was 
composed of a select number from all the clais or kingdoms ; 
of what class or order of men isnotknovvn. Their divisions . 
into classes, were the same ;is in England at this time, the 
noble, the free, and the servile. The nobles were called 
thanes, and were of two kinds, the greater and lesser thanes ; 
both were dependent on the king ; the free- men were the 
yeomanry, or farmers of tlxc realm ; but the slaves were 



86 BKITONS ANL» SAXOXS. 

the most numerous, and were the property upon the estates 
of the nobles. 

The basis of the Anglo-Saxon laws, was the same as the 
present English, excepting the decision of ordeal in ve y in- 
tricate cases. Their criminal code was more mild t'.an the 
present English ; all crimes might be compensated with 
money. This heptarchy continued until they were uuited 
under Egbert, king of Wessex, in 827 ; but it was an union 
both transient and momentary. 

The heptarchy were converted to Christianity by St. Au- 
gustine, a catholic monk, about the year 600. Reverences 
to saints, and monastic observances, were amongst the first 
of their moral virtues ; and donations to the church, atoned 
for all crimes. These superstitions brought them under the 
dominion of the Roman pontiifs, and pilgrimages to Rome 
were common to all classes of society, from the king to the 
peasant. 

Upon this throne of the unitod heptarchy reigned Egbert, 
after severe struggles for dominion, and after he had by his 
sword persuaded t'.ic Saxons, that he was the rightful heir to 
HeuLHst and Horsa, the two first chiefs who led the Saxons 
into England. The reign of Egbert was rendered distress- 
ing, and alarming, by the invasions of the Normans, who 
ravaged the country, as the Danes had done before. In the 
midst of the?e scenes, Egbert died, in 838, and left his throne 
to his son Ethelwolf His superstition, was equal to the 
weakness of his mind ; in his reign, England was again dis- 
tressed by the ravages of the Danes ; and in the midst of 
these distresses, the king went off on a pilgrimage to Rome, 
^nd on his return died, leaving the throne to his sons, Ethel- 
bert and Ethelbald. 

The Danes still continued their ravages, and distracted this 
divided kingdom, until both the kirgs died, and left the 
crown to their younger brother Alfred, at twenty years of 
age. This young hero did wonders ; but was soon over- 
powered, after having fought eight pitched bnltief* in one 
year ; he was compelled to abandon the crown, take the 
garb of a peasant, and pass as a servant to a grazier. Not 
content with this situation, he bnilt him a strong castle in the 
midst of an inacce^^sible morass ; collected a few of his no- 
bles, and when occasion ofTered, fell upon the defenceless 
Danes without mercv. 



ALFRED THE GREAT. i)Y 

Thus immured, like Gustavus of Sweden, he reconnoiter- 
ed the Danes in their camp, and encouraged his countrymen, 
until a fiivourable moment offered, when he fell upon the 
Danish camp at Eddington, routed their army, put them to 
flight, with great slaughter ; took Guthrum their king, with 
the i-emnant of his handitti, and offered them their lives, and 
land to work upon, if they would embrace Christianity, and 
be loyal subjects ; these they consented to, and were true te 
their engagements. 

Although Egbert may be considered as the first king, under 
the Saxon union, his reign was so short, that he had only the 
name of king ; never.did he enjoy a tranquil throne ; every 
thing remained for Alfred to do, when he came to the throne, 
and he was exactly fitted for his condition ; he did every 
thing for that nation, in one conspicuous reign. 

He subdued the Danes, he created a fleet of one hundred 
and twenty vessels, which was equal to the protection of hig 
sea coast ; established a regular police throughout his king- 
dom, by dividing England into counties, hundreds, and tyth- 
ings ; and rendering every householder accountable for his 
family and guests ; every person who did not register himself 
in some tything, was ]junished as an outlaw ; and no man 
could change his abode without a certificate from the head of 
the tything. 

Alfred created county courts, and juries, in the manner 
they are now used in Esigland, and America, and assembled 
his whole people once a year, by their hundreds, not only to 
inquire into, and correct crimes, but also all abuses of power 
in the magistmtes, and at the same time to do military duty ; 
hence a hundred was called a Woppentake. Alfred t>;!med 
also a body oflaws, which were the basis of English jurispru- 
dence. 

He was sensible that ignorance was the hot-b^d of cnischief. 
and that niihout knowledge, it was impossible for any peo- 
ple to be free, virtuous and happy. 

Alfred founded schools, and seminaries ; greatly endowed 
{he university o{ Oxford ; enjoined it upon'ail freeholders, 
to send their children to school ; and encouraged merit by 
preferment. He studied, wrote, acd practised, as he wished 
his people to do, and thus by precept and-example, wastruh^ 
the father of his country. He introduced and encouraged 
manufactures, and commerce ; lived to enjoy the elegancies. 



08 ALFRED THE GRKAT. 

and luxuries of life, and laid the foundation of all that is truly 
great, and good in Enfjjland. 

In the yearyoi, x'^lfred died, having fought fifty-six pitch- 
ed battles, by land and sea, and left it in his will, '' It is just 
that the Englir^h should ever remain as free, as their own 
thoughts." The real worth, and true greatness of Alfied, are 
best known and- expressed, by the irenera! good which has 
been experienced in the English nation. 

To avoid interruption in the Saxon histor}', I have contin- 
ued it through the reigo of Alfred ; which brings it forward of 
the reign of Charlemagne, nearly one whole century. We 
will now go back, and take up the affairs of the continent, 
beginning with Charlemagne king of the Franks, and empe- 
ror of the west. 

In the reign of Pepin, we noticed the holy consecration of 
his two sons, Charles and Carloman, by pope Stephen, as 
protectors of the Roman people. Soon after the death of 
Pepin, died his son Carloman, and left Charles sole heir to 
the crown, in 771. The Saxons had made a general con- 
quest of the clans which were spread over Germany, and 
held them in subjection, after the manaer of the age, where 
sujection and obedience were enforced by the sword only, 
and where ravaging, and plunder, were the common modes 
of subsisting, aaiongst a set of pagan idolatrous barbarians, 
much like our western Indians. 

To quiet the depredations of some of these tribes, became 
the early attention of Charles, when he was called by pope 
Adrian I. to protect his holiness against the incursions of De- 
siderius king of the Lombards, in the same manner that his 
father Pepin had against Luitprand. Charles had married 
(he daughter of Desideriu?:, divorced her with the consent of 
the pope, as being without issue and married another woman. 
This had given some occasion for the quarrel between De- 
siderius, and the pope ; and a serious cause of quarrel be- 
tween Desideriui-^, and Charles. ^ 

Upon the first summons from A h-ian, Charles concluded a 
treaty with the Saxons, drew off iiis army, and marched into 
Italy in quest of Desiderius, who fled at his approach, and 
took shelter in Pavia, his capital, where Charles bej^ieged 
him, 773. The Lombards made a gallant defence, Charles 
invested the city nith apart of his army, drew off the other 
part and marched to Verona, which soon f 11 into his hands, 
together with his brother Carloman's widow, (who was also 



CHARLEMAGNE. 89 

daughter to Deslderius,) with her two son*:, who had been 
sent tliere by her father for safety ; these Charles sent into 
France, and ret'jrnedto Pavia ; renewed thesie^e with vig- 
or, and went in person to Romo to pass the Easter f^-tival. 

Adrian received Charles with great pomp, preceded by the 
magistrates and judges of Rome, witli banners ; and the ex- 
ultations of the clergy " BlesstHl is he that cometh in the 
name of thrvLord." Charles being fiHy gratified with this 
reception at Rome, confirmed again the grant of Pepin, and 
retired to Pavia, which a severe plague amongst the besieg- 
ed soon compelled them to doliver up to Charles, who took 
Desiderins and his family, and sent them into France ; where 
they all died. Thus an end was put to the kingdom of the 
Lombards, 774 ; after an existence of 206 years. 

Italy at this time was shared by the Venetians, the Lom- 
bards, the Popes, and the Emperors ofConsfantinople. After 
the conquest of Lombardy, it was all owned by the Pope, and 
Charles, excepting the dukedom of Naples, and several cities 
in the two Calabrias, which belonged to the emperors. 

Thus possessed of Italy, Chaj-ies received the iron crown 
of the Romaris, at the irands of the pope, with the title of 
king of the Romans, and emp.M'or of the west. Charles took 
immediate po^sessiorj, by instituting a new system of laws, a 
new police, &c, ; and combined the civil, and ecclesia.^tical 
govprnment, by urdting the clergy with the nobility, after the 
manner of France. 

Having thus disposed of his conquests, Charles returned to 
France, and marched directly against the revolted SaxonSj 
which commenced a war of 30 years with these barbariarss, 
who werp finally subdued, a':d annexed to his empire. Groat 
persecutions accompanied this war, to christianize the hea- 
then idolatrous Saxons. 



CHAP. IV. 



France, and the Church, through the reign of Charlemagne and 
his successors, to the settlement ofRollo, the J^orman. 

The connection between the French and Papal thrones, 
have be'^n insepirable from the days of Clovis ; and Chailes 
increased the strength of that union, through every step of 



90 CHARLEMAGNE, 

his reign. He endeavoured to compel the Saxons, by fire 
and sword, to embrace Christianity ; with some he succeeded, 
with others he found it impossible ; they tied their country, 
and took refuge in the wilds of Norway. Charles was a real 
friend to religion and letters ; and to promote both these, he 
was a friend to the clef'^y, and admitted them into the gov- 
ernment with the nobles j but he was careful to preserve his 
dignity as head of the church ; and the pope and clergy 
yielded to him this homage. 

In the midst of the co-operation of Charles, and Adrian I. 
for the exaltation of the papal, and French monarchies, died 
Adrian, who was succeeded by Leo ill. in 796, who sent to 
Charlemagne the Roman standard, " begging him to send an 
embassy to receive the oath of fidelity from the Romans." 

In 799, Charlemagne was called into Italy to redress an 
act of violence, and an attempt of assassination, offered by 
pope Leo, in the streets of Rome. Charles repaired to Rome, 
passed six days with the pope in the year 800 : and assem- 
bled the bishops, and nobles, to inquire into the affair. The 
bishops denied the jurisdiction of the court, alledging, that 
*' the apostolic see cannot be judged by man ;"' Leo acknow- 
ledged the jurisdiction of the court, and as no proof appear- 
ed against him, he purged himself by oath. 

On Christmas day, as Charles was assisting at mass, and 
upon his knees before the altar, in the church of St. Peter ; 
the sovereign pontiff advanced, put an imperial crown upon 
his head ; and the people exclaimed, " Long live the empe- 
ror, long life and victory to Charles Augustus, crowned by 
the hand of God — long live the great, and pious empe^ror of 
the Romaris," and then seated him upon the magnificent 
throne of.the Roman emperors, and presented him with the 
imperial mantle. Charles returned, amidst the acclamations 
of the people, in triumph to his palace. 

High raised on the imperial throne of the west. Charles 
received, amidst the other marks of respect and attention, an 
overture of marriage from the empress Irene, of Constantino- 
ple, which he actually accepted ; but it was prevented by 
the interference of Nicephorus, the patrician ; who banish- 
ed Irene to the island of Lesbos, and settled with Charles a 
Bew treaty of limits, agreeable to his mind in the year 802. 

Charles received particular notice, and respect from the 
caliphs of the Saracens, particularly the caliph Haroun Al- 
irasciaid j he ceded to him by his embassy the lordship of 



aHARLEMAGNE. 91 

Jerusalem, and amongst other presents, sent him a striking 
clock ; the first ever known in France. 

The Arabs had retained the arts, notwithstanding they 
were lost in Europe : the several successive caliphs of Bag- 
dad, continued this respectful notice to Charles, until they 
fell into disorder, and civil wars, which ruined the arts and 
sciences amongst them. 

Charles was truly a great man ; but at'liis death, fell into 
the same evil which had been practised by his predecessors, 
in dividing bis kingdom between his three sons, Charles, 
Lewis, and Pepin. These, had they lived, would have dis- 
tracted the empire, by their civil wars ; but as only Lewis 
survived his father, he found employment for all his time. 

Charles, near the close of his reign, began to feel the 
sword of revenge from t''-ose Saxons who had escaped his 
sword, and fled into Norway : these Normans, under God- 
frey their leader, landed a strong force upon the coast of 
France, and threatr-ned the empire ; but just at the com- 
mencement of the fatal battle, Godfrey svas assassinated by 
one fif his followers, his army fled on board their ships, a 
peace was settled, and they returned home. 

The relief from this invasion, was followed by the death of 
Charles' sons, Charles and Pepin, together with his daughter 
Rotrude, and he associated Lewis in the government of the 
empire ; and to express the independence of the crown, he 
placed it upon the rJtar, and directed Lewis to raise it on to 
his own head ; thus shewing that he held it of God only. 
Charles died at x'\ix la-Chapelle in 814, aged seventy-one — • 
having reigned forty-seven years. 

The empire of tlie west then consisted of France, Germa- 
ny, Italy, ^art of Hungary, Spain, and the Lovv Countries ; 
and the head of this empire was Charlemagne. When he 
fell, his empire fell with him ; the discordant barbarians on 
the north ; the intriguing, factious Italians ; the jealous, su- 
perstitious, half christian, half moorish Spaniards ; the dis- 
cordant, disjunctive, conjoined provinces in France, and 
upon the Rhine, could not he controlled, but by the same 
force that subdued them, and under the same wise head. 

The tirst step Lewis took, made him unpopular with the 
clergy ; this, at that age, was destruction to any reign : the 
next, divided up his government among three sons, in 817 ; 
(Bernard, grandson of Charlemagne was in possession of Ita- 
ly, in his father's right.) To add to the scene already op- 



92 PEUDS OF FRANCE, 

ened for fends, Lewis had one more son, by a second mar 
riMg^, (Charles the bald ;) him he associated with his 
eldest son Lothario, in the government of France, by mutual 
consent. 

He was now prepared for all the trouble, which such an 
age, in the midnt of such discordant interests was ready to 
bring upon him. The feuds 0{)ened, by a coalition of the 
three brothers against the father, in 829. This rebellion 
drove Lewis to the church for consolation, and support : the 
church took advantage of this, and the empire 'vas in the 
midst of distraction. To detail the occurrences of these 
scenes, would neither improve the understanding, correct 
the morals, or mend the hearX : suffice it to say, that Grego- 
ry IV. took such advantage of these feuds, asio bring Lewis, 
into a penitential habit, strip him of his throne, and then de- 
creed " A penitent is incapable of civil offices ; a royal peni- 
tent, must then be incapable of r^^igning ; Lewis is subj 'cted 
to perpetual penance ; he can never ascend the throne." 

Lewis, as a prisoner in the monastery of St. Medard at 
Soissons, in due tbrm, was stripped of his royal robes, in pre- 
sence of his son Lothario, clad in the penitential sackcloth, 
and assigned to his cell, ^or the crime of taking up arms against 
his rebellious sons. The scene was now reversed from what 
it was, when his father sat in judgment upon pope Adrian I, 
in Italy ; and the characters were changed. Fhis scene 
was too gross even for this barbarous age. The feelings of 
these half savages revolted at this triu nph of a son over a 
father, the two brothers united airainst Lothario, who had 
degraded his father, restored the unhappy king to his crown, 
and compelled Lothario to crave mercy at the feet of his fa- 
ther, in presence of the whole army. Lewis granted it, and 
yielded to him the kingdom of Italy, in 834. 

The death of Pepin opened aoew scene for the intrigues of 
the queen, in favor of her son Charles the bald ; again the 
empire was torn with feuds ; Lewi* again fell ;i sacrifice to 
his si^perstitiou, and died near Meotz, ,aged 72 ; having 
reigned twenty-ei^ht years. 

As soon as th(^ father wa'^ removed, th'^ sons drew the 
sword upon each other, an*l to cjnrry their p. jiits, resorted to 
all possible expedients ; Loti'ario ffiired liberty of con- 
science to the Saxons, (that i«, to retur.i to their idolatry) if 
they would support his sword ; Levis and Charle* stuck to 
the church : France was drenched in blood. A fatal action 



CONFLICTS IN FRANCE. 93 

was fought, in which Lewis and Charles prevailed over Lo- 
thario ; 100,000 are said to have fallen in the conflict : this 
caused a new partition, by the help of the clergy. 

Added to these troubles, the Saracens pillaged Italy ; the 
Normans ravaged France ; the nobles set the princes at de- 
fiance ; these all combined, rendered the empire a scene of 
indescribable wretchedness, and a fit " stage to feed conten- 
tion on." The Normans in their ravages penetrated even 
to the gates of Paris ; and France was an aceldama ; kings, 
princes, nobles, and Norman marauders, all joined in the 
general destruction. 

Amidst these scenes of distress, the clergy assumed the 
power of disposing of crowns, and held it until a more en- 
lightened age appeared in later ages. One instance of this 
assumption may serve as an example of the times. " Since 
the divine favor, through the merits of the holy apostles, and 
their vicar pope John, has raised you to the throne, accord- 
ing to the judgment of the holy ghost, we elect you unani- 
mously, for oar protector and Lord." 

Those Normans who were now ravaging France, and un- 
der the protection of these fends, desolating the finest provin- 
ces, claim our attention. Amidst the conquests of Charle- 
magne in Germany, he harassed the Saxons, and forced such 
of them as would not submit to his yoke, with their fdlen 
country, to flee, and take refuge in the wilds of Scandinavia, 
or Sweden and Norway, and form a social union with those 
savages of the north ; and the two nations soon assimilated 
in their habits, and manners. They were scourged by the 
persecution of Charlemagne, on account of their religion ; 
which was paganism of the grossest kind. 

Woden, their god, was to them a god of terror, devastation, 
and carnage : in this character t!iey worsliipjjpd him, and 
the}' were true to their religion. They abhorrei Christiani- 
ty, such as Charlemagne had attempted to cnf Mce upon 
them. Burning with revens^e for the snfferinos t-^f thfir fal- 
len country, they a£sum»d the name of Normans, (or north- 
ern men) burst from their northern wil is, and in the r ^ign 
of Lewis Deboiair, (?;on of Charlemaqne) ';ecame to France 
what they had been to England ; appeared on iue coasts and 
spread a general alarm. 

Upon the death of Lewis, arid i;i rli- rrign ofCharlr^s the 
bald, his successor, they larul d cui f.'oe coast of France, com- 
mitted the most snocking depredations with fire arid sword, 



04 SETTLEMENT OP ROLLd. 

pillaged the country, and carried off their booty, together 
with all the women they could find, and as many boys ag 
they could seize, to recruit their armies ; they besieged 
Charles, burned Paris, and compelled the king to pay trib- 
ute. This money, not only induced, but enabled these bar- 
barians to repeat their visits, until Rollo, their distinguished 
chief, took advantage of Charles the simple, one of the suc- 
cessors of Charles the bald. 

During this weak, and distracted reign, Rollo sailed up the 
Seine, at the head of his Noroians, took Rouen, fortified it a? 
his strong hold, and began his ravaged. Charles, alarmed it 
the bold invasion of this daring adventurer, offered him his 
daughter in marriage, and the province of Neustra, if he and 
his followers would embrace the christian rcligJon, an»l do 
him homage : Rollo consented, and this province in 911 
took the narafe of Normandy, and soon became populoue. 
They cultivated the arts of civilization with the vest of 
France, and became a body of good citizens, for that day, un- 
der a brave and able prince. 

During these distressing scenes in France^ and Englind 
too, the affairs of Germany were in as distracted a situafion 
under the weak princes of the line of Charlemngne ; until 
thf'Y were relieved in some measure by the election of Con- 
rad I. upon the extinction of this sluggish race, in 912. 



CHAP. V. 



Germany from ike election of Conrad I. with Italy and ihc 
Church, down to the year'1004. 

To sever the G-^rmanic body from its connection with 
Frmce, establish, and maintiin a firm, an*l independent sove- 
reignly, was a task which distracted the reign of Conrad I. 
To settle the dominion ofthedncoy f»fLorr:un engrossed his 
first attention, and led to sharp co.^llicts with Charles the sim- 
ple, kiog ofFiaflce. At the same time the Huns, or Hunga- 
rians, commenced their ravages and depredations upon the 
empire, with fire and svvord ; penetrated to the Rhine, and 
compelled Conrad to purchase a peace in 917. 

Upon the death of Conrad (-.vhich soon followed,) the 
states of Germany, by their electors, chose Henry the I. of 



AFFAIRS OF ofeRMANY, 95 

Saxony, as his successor, in 920. These electors were com- ^ 
posed of seven of the higher orders of the clergy and no- ' 
biHty, viz: the arch bishops of Mentz, Cohigne, and Treves, 
(chancellors of the three great districts into which Germany 
was anciently divided,) the king of Bohemia, duke of Saxony, 
marquis of Brandenburg, and the count palatine ©f the 
Rhine. 

Henry drew his sword, marched into Lorrain, settled the 
fate of that duchy, humbled the refractory, settled the gene- 
ral internal tranquillity, and marched a powerful army against 
the Hungarians, who were again committing their ravages in 
the empire ; he expelled the invaders at the memorable bat- 
tle of Mersburg, and reduced them to terms. 

Having there established the sovereinty, and tranquillity 
of Germany, he attempted the conquest of Italy, at the re- 
quest of the Pope, but was seized with an apoplexy on his 
way, returned, died, and left the work to his son Otho the I. 

The distracted state of France, at this time, under Charles 
the simple, amidst the ravages of the Normans, was truly dis- 
tressing, Charles died in 929 : then under Lewis the stran- 
ger, great grandson of Alfred the great ; (who had been edu- 
cated in England,) it was distracted with the usurpations of 
Hugh, great duke of France. Lewis died m 955, and was 
succeeded by his son Lothario, who died in 986, and was 
succeeded by his son Lewis V. who died in the midst of 
troubles in 987. With him the race of Charlemagne became 
extinct in France. 

During this distracted state of France, Otho, that took the 
sword of his father, humbled the Hungarians who again in- 
vaded the empire, at the famous battle of Dortmond, in West- 
phalia ; humbled the Bohemians, who had revolted, and 
compelled these pagan barbarians to embrace Christianity, in 
937 ; he drew his sword, and humbled the refractory spirit 
of the duke of Bavaria, who attempted to act the part of 
Hugh, duke of France. 

This overbearing spirit of the great fiefs, began generally 
to prevail at this time, and distract the governments of Eu- 
rope : to counteract the spirit of the nobles, Otho augmented 
the powers of the clergy, propagated Christianity by fire and 
sword, after the e.x;\mp\e of Charlemagne ; and extended it 
even into Denmark, in 948. Having thus settl^^d the affairs of 
the north, he prepared to redress the wrongs of Adelaida, 



S6 AFFAIRS OF ITALY. 

widow of Lothario, son of duke Hugh, who was imprisoned 
by the usurper Berongarius. 

Otho naarched into Italy, relieved Adelaida, married her, 
subdued the country, and returned into Germany to subdue 
his son Ludolphus, who had con.-pired against him, with sev- 
eral of the great fiefs of Germany. Otho received the sub- 
mission of his son, and sent him into Italy to qufll an insur- 
rection under the same Berengarius, trom whose power he 
delivered Adelaida, where he die^ ; the rebel triumphed 
over the kingdom of Lombardy, and in his turn began to op- 
press the Poj)e John XII. then only eighteen years of age. 

Otho obeyed with alaerity the call of John, summoned a 
diet at Worms, caused his son, Otho II. to be elected his suc- 
cessor, marched into Italy, deposed Berengarius, was crown- 
ed at Pavia, king of Lombardy, and Milan, 962, entered Rome 
in triumph, and was crowned by the Pope, emperor of the 
Romans, with the title of Augustus, and his Holiness swore 
allegiance to him upon the tomb of St. Peter. 

Otho, in his turn, confirmed to his Holiness the grant o( 
Pepin, and Charlemagne ; " saving in all things, his own, and 
his sons, and successors authority." This reservation caus- 
ed a revolt upon the first absence of the emperor, and John, 
by an unnatural alliance with Adelbert, son of Berengarius, 
took up arms against the emperor. 

Fired with irjdignation, Otho marched to Rome, deposed 
John, and caused Leo VIII. (a virtuous layman,) to be elect- 
ed Pope. Upon the first absence again of Otho, a faction re- 
stored John upon tliis nwixim, " that no inferior can degrade 
a superior ;" John died by assassination, and Benedict V. 
was elected Pope. 

Fired with indignation, Otho returned to Rome, restored 
Leo, depo?ed Benedict, and banished him to Hamburg, and 
extorted this concession from Leo, the clergy, and the Ro- 
man people ; " that Otho, and his successor* in the kingdom 
of Italy, should always have the power of choosing a succes- 
sor, naming a Pope, and giving investiture to bishops." 

During the stay of Otho in Italy. Leo III. died, and the im- 
perial commissioners elected John XIII. when Otho returned 
to Germany. The Italians again revolted, and expelled 
John. Fired again with indignation at the restless, factions 
spirit of Italy, O: ho marched again to Rome, took vengeance 
on the factious leaders, banished the consuls, hanged the tri- 
bunes, and caused the Roman prefect to be whipped through 



OTllU AND THE POPES. 97 

the streets on an as>! ; restored the Pope, and retired to Ca- 
pu.t, where he received overtures of jilhance from the Greek 
ejnperor bet^veen. his daughter and the son of Otho, now 
Otho II. which was delayed by the treaciiery of her fither ; 
but in the reign of his successor, th.e match was consumrhated 
in Italy, in 970, and Otho returned to Germany, under the 
appellation of Otho the grea<^, where he died, In 973, and 
was succeeded by his son, Otho II. 

la this reign the fictions of Germany were kept under; 
but the factions in Italy prevailed again, and the scene agiain 
changed ; the factions had now elected three popes at the 
same time, apd when the imperial pope vvaf; established, the 
ex-pope had recourse to that power which the kings of 
Frf.'nce had delivered them from ; and again applied to the 
Greek emperor at Constantinople for relief : such is the 
insatiable thirst of ambition, and the lust of power in man. 

Otho II. like his father, drew his suord, marched itito 
Italy, chastised the rebels at Rome ; bnt in his turn, was 
chastised by the Saracens, who invaded Italy through the 
instigation of the Greek emperor. Otho died at Rome, and 
was succeeded by his son Otho III. at twelve years of age, ia 
983. During his minority, the torch of civil war was Mgain 
lit in Germany, and Italy ; but when hecnme of age. he like 
his grandfather, drew his sword, hushed the storms, expel- 
led the Danes from Germany, and compelh;d them to receive 
f)hristian missionaries into Denmark and Norway Having 
quelled a second revolt, and settled a second pap«l flection 
in Italy, Otho marched into Pohmd, at the request of duke 
Bolisiaus,ari^ created him king, reserving Poland as a fief of 
the German empire, in the year 10(;0. 

The Saracens, taking advantage of Otho's absence, Rgnin 
entered Italy, and penetrated to Rome : Otho jigain entered 
Italy, expelh d the invasion, returned to Rome, where he fell 
a sacritice to the poivonous treachery of an injured woman. 
Otho left no issue, and of course a contested throne, which 
finally was settl d upon Henr^ II. grandson of Otho II. 

The troubles of Germany and Italy, were the same in this 
reign, as in thatf^f th-- three Othos. The feuds of Germany, 
Italy and Poland, so greatly harassed Henry, that he attenspt- 
ed to retire from the throne in 1004, and actually took the re- 
ligious habit ; but at the same time resumed the sceptre again, 
by this artful finesse of the abbot of St. Val. " Monks owe 
obedience, said the abbot, to their superiors. ! order you to 

9 



9B ENGLAND AN® FRANCE. 

continue at the h«lni of government." This was not the on- 
iy <^^xpre*:sion of the weakrjess ofH-nry; aiidyer he had en- 
ergies which were adequate to the exiitericies of the times, 
and the peace and prosperity of his crown continued to in- 
crease durins: th'^ remainder of his reign, which closed by 
his death, in 1024. 

I have dwc-lt the more minntely upon the feuds of Italy, 
that the foundation of the snhscqnent civil and ecclesiastical 
feuds, between Italy and Germany, and also the strife be- 
tween Germany and France, for the dominion of Italy, to- 
getlier with the intrigues of the popes, to obtain and exerci^^e 
universal sovereignty, both temporal and spiritual, may be 
?he more correctly understood. 



CHAP. VI, 



England and France, from the rise of Edward L to the jXor- 
inan conquest, 1066. 

During these struggles on the continent, the afliiirs of Eng- 
land utider Edward, son and succeisor of Alfred the great, 
continued to flourish as Alfred left them. The Danes con- 
tiijued their ravages, through his reign, but without obtaining 
any advantages ; and he died victorious 925, and was sut- 
oeeded by his natural son, Athelstan, who attempted to prac- 
tice the same policy with the Danes in Northumberland, that 
Charles the bald had practised with Rollo the Norman, in- 
France ; he conferred this district upon Sitheric a Danish 
chief, with the title of king, and gave him his sister in mar- 
riaire, but not with the same success. 

This occasioned a war between Athelstan, and Scotland, 
which secured to him a peaceful reign. He passed a law for 
the encouragement of Commerce, by confeiiiig the title of 
lesser thane, on every merchant, who should make two voy- 
ages to distant lands on his own account. He was succeeded 
by his brother Edmund, in 941. 

"^ Nothing of importance took place io this reign, and Ed- 
mund was assassinated in the midst of a feast, by a notorious 
robber, L^^olf, whom he had banished, and was succeeded by 
his broth<^r Edred. He took all possible care to check the 
incursions of the Danes, and deroted the greatest part of his 
reign to extend and cultivate the monastic iiie in England. 



EDWY, ELGIVM, 0UNSTAN. S9 



The firpt preachers amongst the Saxons, had laid the foun- 
dation of the doctrine and practice of celibacy ; but in this 
reign it was carried to its extreme. Edred died in 955, and 
wai succeeded by Edwy, son of his predecessor Edraund, at 
the age of 17. Edwy, charmed with the person of Elgiva, 
his second or third cousin, ventured to many her. This 
roused u{) the *vhole force of monastic indignation ; Edwy 
was denounced by the monks, which proceeded to open vio- 
lence and even to abuse of thequeeo, by Dunstan, the abbot 
of Gla.Ntenbury, who was at the head of the treasury, and by 
the arch bishop of Canterbury. 

Edwy resented the insult and punished Dunstan. The 
arch bishop denonnced the queen, caused her to be seized, 
her fital beauty to be destroyed, by burning her face with red 
hot iron, then banished her to Ireland for life ; and compell- 
ed EWwy to consent to a divorce, which was pronounced by 
the arch bishop. 

Fearing the royal sufferer might return to the embraces of 
the king, they caused her to be murdered -, dethroned Edwy, 
placed hi« brother Ediijar tipon the throne, at thirteen years 
of age, and made Dunstan regent. 

At the commencement of the reign of Edwy, Dunstan with 
the title of St. was abbot »f Glastenbury, and mnde head of 
the treasury. Upon the deposition of Edwy and the acces- 
sion of Edgar, he was made bishop of Worcester, then of 
London, then arch bishop of Canterbury ; and held the reins 
of government during the minority. He triumphed over the 
unfortunate Edwy, by the unrelenting vengeance of ecclesias- 
tical excommunications ; and persecuted him even unto death. 

The affairs of E.ngland flourishe*! generall}^ under this 
monkish reign ; and Edgar, by sacrificing every thing to their 
humor, obtained the title of St. and a virtuous man ; notwith- 
standing he was a most debauched libertine, and very much 
the prototype of Henry VHI. 

Edgar was succeeded by his son Edward, in 975, through 
the intrigues of Dunstan. In three years he was mur- 
dered by the intrigues of Elfrida, his step-mother, to make 
way for her son Ethelred. 

This was a bloody succession, and a bloody reign. The 
Danes renewed their depredations upon England, and Ethel- 
red purchased ashameful peace. This invited new depreda- 
tions, which were appeased as before ; and to revenge these 
incursions, Ethelred gave secret orders for a general massa- 



100 ROBERT, BERTHA AND THE Pol's. 

ere of the Danes, throughout England upon a particular day 
This fatal order was as fatally executed upon all ranks and 
classes ofevery age and sex. 

The vengeance of heaven followed this barbarity. Sweyn, 
king of Denmark, enterod England with apowerful force, and 
ravaged the country with fire and sword, 'i he distresses of 
the nation were incomparably grrat ; Ethelred fled to the pro- 
tection of Richard, dnke of Normandy, his brother-in-law, un- 
til the death of S^veyn : he then returned lo his throne ; but 
not in p'^.ace : Canute the successor of Sweyn, assembled an 
army, harassed the country and hnVited Etlielred to his death, 
in 1016. H" was succeeded by his son Edmond, styled Iron- 
side. His pfforts lo restore the tranquillity of Engl-md were 
worthy of better success ; he fell a sacrifice to the Danish 
treachery, and left the throne to Cnnute the Dane, in 1017. 

During this distracted state of affairs in England, Germany 
and Italy, in which we hav^e seen a change of dynasty, the 
same causes produced the same events in France, and estab- 
lished the feudal system in that kingdom ; which was now be- 
come a monstrous assemblage of members, without a head. 

Hugh Capet, who had become the greatest nobleman in 
France, and whose influence had given law to the several bst 
reigns, upon the death ot Lewis V. seized on the crown by his 
address in securing the favour of the clergy, asso-^iating his 
son Robert with him in the government, with the title of king 
and retaining his former titlf; of duke, he se'.ured th^' throne 
to the exclusion of the rightfil heir of the house of Lorrain ; 
established his dynasty and left his son in quiet succession, in 
996. 

Robert fell under the same misfortunes of Edwy of Eng- 
land, and became the o' ject of the same ecclesiastical cen- 
sure and tyrannic power. Robert e^^poused his fourth cous- 
in Bertha; this consanguinity gave offence to pope Gregory 
V. and he undertook to dissolve the marriage, although con- 
firme:i by several Bishops. Robert was strongly attached to 
the queen, and by persisting in the connection, tell under the 
ball of excommunication, with ail its rigors. H»s own cour- 
tiers would not eat with him, his own domestics all forsook 
him, except two ; these threw to the dogs what food he left, 
and puiiliftd the dishes by fire on wiiich he ate, and told 
frightful stories about the queen. The pope succeeded ; 
Robert yielded to the censure, divorced his queen, who was 
the idol of his heart, and married a termagant. This sacri- 
fice restored hiai to the favour of his holiness. 



CANUTE THE BANE. 101 

liobert refused the cro'.vn of Germany upon the death of 
Henry II. the last of the Saxon line ; and after having !^trug- 
^\tid long with the intrigues of Constance, his queen, in regu- 
lating the succesi^ion n|)on the death of his eldest son Hugh, 
he di(Hl in 1031 ; and left his crown to his son Henry I. at 
the age of twenty seven : who was ohliged to take refuge in 
Normandy, to avoid the intrigues of his mother, in favour of 
her youngest son Rohert. 

Here he assembled an army, entered France, humh^ed the 
queen, established his throne ; and Henr}^, in gratefil re- 
tura added several provinces to the duchy of Normandy. At 
this time Robert, duke of NorrQandy, set out on a pilgrimage 
to Jerusalem, >vhere he died, and left ids natural soa William, 
then a miuor, to inherit his possessions. 

Henry 1. of France, aiu-l Alan, duke of Br'^tagne, (although 
constituted guardians of W'lliam, by his father, before he 
left Normandy ;) both became competitors fi>r \h^' duchy : 
but William, by tiie assistance of Henry, triumphed over 
Alan, and obtained his estate, in 1046. G^^neral tranquillity 
prevailed in France, during this rei^n. and during thf minori- 
ty of Philip I. son and successor of Henry ; who died, in 1060. 

At this time Canute had established i^mself upon the 
throne of England, and reversed the scene ; he oppressed 
the English with severe and heavy t »xe*, and be»to,ved, at 
the same time. gr'^:ar favors upon his Danish follo'.vers. This 
roused the seed* of jealousy, indignation, and revenge. — The 
Efiglish sought for an opportunity to red;ess their wrongs ; 
this led Canute to change his policy, send off such Danes as 
could be spared, without weakening his government, and at 
the same time, he serst Edwin and Edward, the two sons of 
Edmuud ironside, (during their minority,) into S'veden, 
under pretence of receiving their educalion ; bt^t really for 
the purpose of being privately despatched, to secure the 
tranquillity of his throne. The king of Sweden did not com- 
ply with his wishes, but sent them into Hungary ; here they 
found a protector. 

Edwin married the sister of his protector, and died without 
issue. Edward married tlie sister-in-law of King SolomoHj 
and daughter of Henry li. by v.'hom he had Edgar Atheling, 
Margaret, queen of Scots, and Christina the nun The two 
sons of Ethelred, Alfred, and Edward, w^ere under the pro- 
tection of their uncle Richard, duke of Normandy, who had 

9* 



102 DUKE OF NORMANDY 

made some preparation to restore the princes to the throne 
of their father. 

The crafty Canute resolved to break this storm ; accord- 
ingly he made overtures of marriage to Emma, the sister of 
Richard, and queen of Ethelred, by his second marriage, and 
mother of Alfred, and Edward ; this overture was accepted, 
the marriage consummated in England, and Emma restored 
to the throne of Ethel red, by the hands of the conqueror, and 
usurper : this marriage restored tranquillity to England. 

Canute made a vi.-^it to Denmark, and by the valor of his 
English subj'icts, subdued Sweden, and upon a second visit 
subdued Norway ; returned ^home in triumph, made a pil- 
grimage to Rome, humbled Malcolm king of Scotland, died in 
1035 ; and left his crown to his son Harold barefoot, to the 
exclusion of Hardicanute, the rightful heir, by queen Emma. 
These princes were only the stepping stones to the rightful 
succession of Edward, son of Ethelred, then in Normandy ; 
this succession at first gave great satisfaction in England ; but 
his weakness led him to shew the same partiality to the Nor- 
mans, Canute had done to the Danes, which produced the 
samejealousy, and discontent ; by a foolish vow, he obtained 
the title of confessor, from the monks; but left his throne 
open to competitors, which under earl Godwin began to dis- 
tract the kingdom, and extorted from him the condition, that 
all foreigners should be banished the kingdom. Godwin, af- 
ter having extorted this concession from the king, died, and 
left his estate to Harold his son. 

The death of Siward, at this time the hero of Engl*md, 
who had killed Macbeth, the usurper of the crown ofScotland, 
and restored Malcolm to the throne of his ancestors, was a 
severe loss to Edward ; and left an opening for Harold to 
disturb the government ofEdward, by his arms, and intrigues ; 
and when Edward died, he left Harold, Edgar Atheling, (the 
sole surviving heir, who had been sent first to Sweden, tbence 
to Hungary, thence into England by the voice of the people,) 
and William, duke of Normandy, cousin to Edward, as com- 
petitor* for the crown. 

Hnrold, being at the head of that army with which he had 
subdued Wales, stepped on to ttie throne, and supported his 
title with the sword. Neither E'Jgar Atheling, nor William 
gave him any trou'de ; but his brother Tosti, who had been 
expelled from his tyrannical government in Northumberland, 
by his oppressed people, and taken refuge in Flanders, im 



CON€lUERS ENGLANJD. 103 

mediately entered into a league with Halfai^ar, king of Nor- 
way, ami invaded England with a povverful ti«^et, and army, 
landed their torces, and began their ravages. Harold rouged 
to tlie contest, assembled an army, met the invaders, gave 
them battl;\ killed Halfagar and Tosti, the chiefs ; destroy- 
ed, and dispersed the invaders. 

In this distracted moment, William duke of Normandy, 
appeared in England at the head of his troops, claimed the 
crown, by right of the will of Edward the confessor, and sum- 
moned Harold to surrender the throne : the chiefs w-re at 
issue, and appealed to the s?vord, an instrument equally fa- 
miliar to both. Harold collected his forc(?s, and marched to 
meet the invader, and give him battle. The two armies 
met at Hastings, a parley ensued ; but without success, and 
both armies prepared for action. The Englislr passed the 
night in riot, and feasting ; the Noraians in prayer and pre- 
paration, and at the dawn of day, William dre.v up his army. 
Upon the signal given for battle, he began the charge with 
the famous song of Roland, the reiiov'. ned chief of Charle- 
magne. 

Harold, posted on an eminence, with inferior numbers, re- 
ceived the violence of the onset, on foot, at the head of his 
infantry ; the conflict was terrible, the Normans were bro- 
ken, and began to fall into disorder. William rallied them 
in person, and led on the charge ; the English gave way in 
their turn ; but resisted with firmness as they retired. 

William beat a retreat, and retired into the plain, where 
his cavalry could act with more advantage, and the English 
pursued in triumph. William faced about, the conflict be- 
came desperate, his cavalry fell upon the wings of ihe Eng- 
lish, they fled again in their turn ; William pursued, and a- 
gain practised the same stratagem, and succeeded as before ; 
drew the English army into the plain, and again faced about ; 
the conflict was again terrible, the carnage on both sides 
equalled their valor : Harold fell at the head of bis guards, 
and with him fell the crown of England : the army fled, and 
dispersed, leaving a carnage of more thac thirty thousand 
upon both eides. William entered London in triumph, and 
took possession of the English throne, October, 1066. 

If William was a conqueror, Harold had been an usurper, 
the terror of whose sword had reduced to him the crown of 
England ; not the choice of the people. By the nobility, 
William was kindly received, and by the people, cheerfully 



104 CONSTANTINOPLE. 

obeyed. An nngaarded step in Wiliiam, in retiring to Nor- 
mandy too soon after his conqiiost, occasioned a rebellion 
which created great distress to the n.»tion, and opened the vvay 
for the ruin of Saxon liberty, by the introduction ff the feu- 
dal system in England, which divided the kin^^doai up into 
baronies, which haras'spd and distressed the nation, down to 
the reign of Henry Vlll. in the sixteenth century. 



CHAP. VIL 



Spain and the church, with Germany, and Italy, through the 
reign of Henry IV. to the year 1099. 

The affairs of the continent now claim our attention, par- 
ticularly those of Spain, the Saracens, and theGreekor Rom- 
an empire at Constantinople ; these we left about the year 
768, upon the death of Abdurrahman, the Moorish king in 
Spain. At this time Portugal, and about three fourths of 
Spain, were under the dominion of the Moors, Arabs, or 
Saracens, and of course under the Mahometan religion. The 
conflicts between the christians, and Mahometans, together 
with the private quarrels wiiich aros*' from jealousy, strife, 
and ambition, between the divided interoMts of the two great 
parties, rendered S[)ain the theatre of carnage, crimes, in- 
trigues, and desolation, for several centuries. 

To enumerate the exploits of Ramiro II. king of Leon, and 
Oviedo ; of Almanzor, the hero of Hissem, king of Cordova : 
and of Sancho the great, king of Navarre, could neither in- 
terest the foelings, nor improve the heart. Tliey all aohiev- 
ed some acts worthy of notice ; b^t many more to be abhor- 
red, and forgotten. 

During this period the same dissensions, and divisions, 
spran r up amoogst the followers of Mahomet, as we have 
seen in Christendom. Lust of power, aud domination, arm- 
ed with all Vi\e excesses of igoorance, and fjnatici^m, spread 
carnage, and desolation, not only in Spain, but in the Saracen 
states in Africa, and Asia, and by their foods, divisions, and 
contentions, paved the way for the domiaion of the Turks, 
which rose upon their ruins. 

During these distressing scenes in the dominions of Ma- 
homet, and St- Peter, the two feet of the Roman empire ; 



POPERY. 105 

the main stock at Constantinople .stood like a rock in tlie 
midst of the ocean, lashed with the waves, and beaten by the 
tempests, with here and there a fragment torn off, }'et firm 
on its base ; torn by internal fouds, jealousies, intiignes, and 
corruptions, it was often a prey to factions ; but it preserved 
its unity, and its splendid excellence in the arts, and sciences, 
in the midst of the dark cloud of ignorance, and wretched- 
ness, which bnng around it. 

Even here the arts were nnrr^ed in the lap of luxury, ef- 
feminacy, licentiousness, and corruption ; and even here, 
that church, which Con^tantine had so faithfully nursed, and 
adorned, was seated in the same lap, and partook of the snme 
corruptioiis with the arts ; and here, the ban mots of Cloris, 
and Chilperic, his grandson, might as well apjdy, as in the 
do ainions of St. Peter. " St. Martin serves hi.^ fnends rery 
well ; but he makes them pay roundly for his troulde" — 
Clovis. " Our treasure is poor ; our riches are gone to the 
church ; the bishops are the kings." — Chilperic. 

Thus we hav^. noticed with particular attention, the rise 
and progress of the p.ipal church, and power, from the days 
of Clovis, until this tune; we have s-^en how tje popes a- 
vailod themselves of the genius of the religion oftl»e barba- 
rians; of idolatry, avarice, and despotic power; and how 
they raised the papal throne, upon this broad, and corrupt 
basis, and upon the ruins of Christianity. They engraft^id 
the heathen mythology of the Greeks, and Romans, foj:ether 
with these princi[)les of the harbyrians, upon the old Jewish 
stock : the pope became high priost, lai<l aside his mitre, 
took the triple crown and S'^eptre, and retained enough of 
Christianity, to ^^xercise tl>e spirit lal power of St. Pe'or, and, 
with th*^ keys of eternal justice, hecone arbit'^ '■ oft'.e world. 
\ Money amongsttlie barb irianscompens*'t d for all crimes ; 
this principle exactly staled the exig^nci'^s of the popes. 
Money purchased the frowns, or favors of the church, and 
the sale of indul renci-.^s, together with the price of redemp- 
tio ) from purgatory, raised a revenue, ti^al enabled the popes 
to support the most splendid throne upon earth* Thes^ ages 
were not only dark and ignorant, but corrupt in the extreme ; 
to found a cloister, or endow a church, atoned for a whole 
life of the blackest crimes : this became another source of 
the wealth and splendor of the church. 

'^hus high raised to power, and enthroned on ignorance, 
superstition and corruption, the pope held all Europe at his 



306 KENRY IV. AND GRfeCORY VII. 

nod. One example from St. Egidius, bishop of Noyon, may 
serve as a speciin*^n of the spiritual style of ihe pulpit. *' Re- 
deem your souls from destruction, while you have the means 
in yotir power ; offer presents and tythes to churchmen ; 
come more frequ^^ntly to church ; humbly implore the pat- 
ronage of the saints ; for if you observe these things, you 
may come with security in the day of the tribunal of the 
eternal judge and say, Give us, O Lord, for we have givea 
unto thee." Armed with such power, and such principl»?s, 
with ignorance, bigotry, corruption and fanaticism for their 
instruments, the popes waged suTcessfnl war with all the 
powers of Christendom, by their intrigues, and spiritual thun- 
ders, (or bulls of excommunication,) and extended the papal 
dominion, in regular succession, until the reign of Gregory 
VIl. : he, by his triumph over Henry the IV. of Germany, 
placed the top stone upon this stupendous fabric of human 
inventioa, and brought all Christendom to ui? feet. 

We have witnessed the triumph of the spiritual thunders 
over Edwy, king of England, and Robert, king of France ; 
we are now called to witness the spiritual conflicts vvitif Hen- 
ry III. and IV. of Germany. During the reign of 'lenry HI. 
the feuds in Italy ran so high in the church, as to cause three 
popes to be elected, and all to preside at the same time. 
Heijry III. marched into Italy, deposed these popes, el^' ted 
and established Clement HI. and continued to control the pa- 
pal elections during his reien.' 

Upon his death, Henry IV. his son, succeeded to the throne, 
then only five years of age ; but the government continued 
in the hands of the empress his mother, during bis minority. 
During this regency the popes recovered their strength, and 
the clergy of Italy had decreed, that " none but the cardinals 
should elect the pope." When Henry came to the throne, 
he became i nmediatiely engaged in a war with t.i^e rebellious 
Saxons, and at the same time received a summons from pope 
Alexander II. tonppear before the tribunal of the holy see, 
and defend his^ encroachments upon ths rights of the church. 
Henry treated'with contempt the mandate of the pope, and 
Alexander II. died. 

In the year J073, Hildebrand was elected pope, and took 
the title of Gregory VH. He commenced his reign, by pro- 
claiming war with his spiritual thunders, against all the poten- 
tates of Christendom ; but more particularly against Henry, 
and compelled him to answer submissively to the demandis 



HENRY IV. AND GREGORY VIT. 107 

of pope Alexander II. bis predec«?s5or, and make his peace 
witii the chuich. Gregory next {)roposed a crusade to Hen- 
ry, in order to exalt t! e papni throne ; when this project fail- 
ed, ^i conmienced a direct attack upon Henry, accused him 
of ?ir-iony, and threatened hini v\ith immediate excommimi- 
cat't'- .1, if he did not ce;;se to bestow invesititures. 

Fired with iridigiation, Henry dismissed the legates, con> 
voked an assembly of ihe princes, and dignitied clergy at 
Worms, who passed their censures upon Gregory, for usur- 
pation, ambition and scandalous deportment to the emperor, 
and decreed that he ought to be deposed, and a successor ap- 
pointed, ffenry accordingly, by his ambassador, formally 
deposed Gregory, and called a council in Italy, who unani- 
mously decreed, that the pop=^ had j.i.-t cause to depose Hen- 
ry. Gregory isjuied the following bull. " In the name of 
Almighty God, and by your authority, I prohibit Henry, son of 
our emperor Henry, from governing the Teutonic kingdom, 
and Italy ; 1 release all christians from their oath of allegi- 
ance to him ; and I strictly forbid all persons from serving, 
and attending him as a king." Struck, as with a shock of 
the palsy, as to his power, Henry was at once deserted by his 
friends, and beset by his enemies, with no alternative left, 
but to make his peace with the pope, lo effect this he ap- 
peared before the gates of the pope, where he was compel- 
led to stand three days, barefoot, in the month of January, 
clad in sackcloth, and fasting ; whilst his holiness v.as acting 
the part of confessor to the pious Matilda, duchess of Tus- 
cany. 

At length his holiness graciously condescended to admit 
him into his presence, permit him to throw himself at his feet, 
swear obedience to his holiness, in all things ; and then his 
holiness most graciously condescended to grant him absolu- 
tion, and restore him to his throne. Thus Gregory display- 
ed to the world the maxiius of the church ; that '• bishops 
are superior to kings," and that it was the duty of popes " to 
pull down the pride of kings." 

Henry returned to his throne, but the storm was not lay- 
ed ; Gregory intrigued with the Germans, to elect a new 
emperor, and they chose Rodolph, duke of Strabia, and 
cro*vned him at Mentz. The imperial throne had now be- 
come like tlie papal throne in the reign of Henry HI. when 
three popes existed at one, aud the same time ; and Gregory 
held the balance of power between the rivals. 



lOtJ HENRY IV. AND GREGORY VII. 

Fired with indignation, Henry drew his sword, and struck 
a serious blow at his rival in Germany. *^ This called forth 
the second bull from Gregory, against Henry ; together with 
a golden crown as a present to his rival. This bull closed 
with this extraordinary apostrophe to St. Peter, and St. Paul : 
" Make all men sensible, that as you can bind and loose eve- 
ry thing in heaven, you can also on earth, take from, or give 
to, every one according to his deserts : empires, kingdoms, 
principalities : let the kings and princes of the age then feel 
your power, that they may not dare to despise the orders of 
your church : let your justice be so speedily executed upon 
Henry, that nobody may doubt that he falls by your means, 
and not by chance." 

Henry assembled immediately a council of bishops, de- 
nounced Gregory, caused him to be deposed, and the arch- 
bishop of Kavenna to be elected, under the title of Clement 
HI. ; again drew his sword upon Rodolph, his rival, humbled 
him in the famous battle of Mersberg, dispersed his army^ 
and triumphed over his enemy, who lost his right hand in the 
action ; marched to Rome, took it by storm, after a siege of 
two years, besieged Gregory in the castle of St. Angelo, and 
eet his thunders at defiance ; consecrated Clement HI. and 
established a quiet succession over Gregory, who died soon 
after at Salerno, in 1085. 

This bold stroke of Henry, raised a new storm. The Ital- 
ians elected a second pope with the title of Victor the HI. 
and upon his death, they chose Uiban H. who became the 
author of the first crusade. At the same time, Urban, by the 
iptrigues of the duchess Matilda, caused Conrad to rebel 
against his father, Henry, and assume the government of Ita- 
ly, in 1090 ; who by the direction of his father, passed under 
the ban of the empire, and he died in 1099. 

Upon the death of Urban, succeeded Paschal II. He,- like 
Gregory, kindled the torch afresh ; excommuDicated Henry ; 
caused his son Henry the rebel, to support the faith, who af- 
ter various intrigues, deposed his father, reduced him to 
poverty and distress, by his savage treatment, and held the 
throne. Thus we iiave seen hew by a steady and regular 
succession of events, the papal throne has acquired the most 
despotic sovereignty, over the lives, and consciences of men ; 
and how the ten horns have agreed " to give their power to 
the beast." Rev. xvii. 13. 

* Accompanied with this dedication — Petra dedit Petro, Petrus 
diadema Rodolpha. 



PETER THE HERMIT. 109 

Would you know the origin, and character of this povrer, 
read the xiii. chapter of St. John's Revelation. 



CHAP. VIII. 

The church— first crusade — chivalry, and the monastic rage, 

A detail of the events of the subsequent reigns, would be 
only a continuation of the same feuds, and the same black ca- 
talogue of crimes. The popes claimed and exercised the 
supremacy, through a period of more than four centuries, 
compelling kings and emperors to hold the stirrup when they 
mounted their horr=e ; issuing their bulls of excommunication, 
andbrmgiiig them to their feet. The great subject which 
confirmed this supremacy, now claims our attention. 

We noticed the plan of Gregory VII. (during the perse- 
cutions of Henry IV.) for a general crusade to redeem the 
holy sepulchre, at Jerusalem, from the hands of the infidels. 
This failed at that time ; but was now renewed by Peter the 
hermit, who had made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and on his 
return, came over the Rhine out of Germany, and with a cru- 
cifix in his hand, proclaimed the first crusade, throughout the 
southern kingdoms. Urban II. spread the flame, by assem- 
bling a council of more than 30,000 priests, and laymen, who 
all declared war against the infidels. 

This first council, and Peter, kindled the fire ; and a se- 
cond council of the great prelates, and nobles, spread the 
flame, by a decree, as if irom immediate iuj^piration, " it is the 
voice of God." This, under the banner of the cross, became 
the rall}'ing point in the exploits of this mad adventure. 
Kings and nobles assembled their vassals, mortgaged, or sold 
their estates, (when it became necessary) to raise money, 
and embarked in the war. Peter, and Walter the money- 
less, led the van, with about 300,000 men, through Hungary 
to Constantinople, trusting to the miraculous interposition of 
heaven, for subsistence and supplies. When this failed, they 
robbed and plundered the Jews, as the murderers of Christ, 
plundering and butchering all such as refused baptism : when 
this r^-source failed, they plundered the countries through 
which they passed, until the inhabitantt?, armed in their own 
defence, destroyed almost all this banditti, and left Peter, op 

10 



no CONQUEST OF JERUSALEM. 

his arrival upon the plains of Cotistantinople, the starving 
remnant of about 20,000 ; liere, joined b_y niuiicrous other 
adventurers, they sv- arraed into the plains of Asia, where 
they were all cut to pieces by the suitan of Nice ; Walter 
was slain, and Peter escaped to Con^ta ntn.-ople. 

Succeeding swarms ponied forth from Europe. The em- 
peror of Coiistantiaopie favoured what he could not resist, 
and irave the christians a frev. passage^ as Ihey arrived, whose 
reguhir force amounted to about 100,000 horse and 600,000 
foot, when assembled on the plains of A^^ia. 

T!>ey subdued the sultan of Nice, or Syria, a^d the sultan 
of Antioch, broke the power of the Turks in Asia minor, en- 
tered Syria, and laid siege to Jerusalem, then under the do- 
minion of the Saracens, or caliphs of E^ypt. 

Greatly diuiinishcd at this time by famine, sword, pesti- 
lence, and every calamity, they were not equal in number to 
the garrison they had summoned. The resistance was lirm ; 
yet in five weeks they entered Jerusalem, by assault, gave the 
city u{) to pillage and slaughter, and exhibited a scene of cru- 
elty, barbarity, carnage and distre.-s, too shocking to be con- 
ceived of or described ; and when neither age nor sex re- 
mained, togiutthe vengeance of ti>eir swords, they a{proached 
the sepulchre, their hands yet warm with the blood of the 
8ged, the infant, and the mother, and paid their devotions at 
the shrine of the Prince of Peace. What madness ivill not 
enthusiasm kindle, and su]>portin the breast of man ! 

Godfrey, kinj^^ of France, was chosen king of Jerusalem. 
Urban II. having lived to see the tritmiph of his plan, died 
and left the p;>p;icy to Paschal II. During this period, the 
partizans of the popes and emperors, took the names of 
Guelphs and Ghibelines, an^ became distinguished in the 
feuds of Europe. Three successive crusades of the same 
stamp and style, distracted Europe about two centuries. As 
the madness and power of the popes, as well as the low, igno- 
rant, degraded and enthusiastic state of Europe, are more ful- 
ly displayed in this adventure, than the pen or the pencil 
could express, I will pass over the details of the other two 
crusades, together with the dark, wretched and distracted pe- 
riod of about four centuries, in which nothing appears, but 
the blackest catalogue of crimes, murders, and assassinations, 
sanctioned by the intrigu6;s of civil and ecclesiaslica! strife, 
competition and power. Snffjce it to say, that the struggles 
for supremacy, between the popes and sovereigns of the sev- 



CHIVALRY. ill 

cral kingfloms ; the struggles for succession, claims of juris- 
diction and conqunst ; together with the contests between the 
cities aid b irons ; kings and barons : and civil wars, fill up 
this whole period, with acat;»logae of crimes of the blackest 
dye and exhibit such scenes of rapine and cruelty, as nothing 
could prodiice or tolerate, but these -.iges of darkness, this 
mighty struggle of rf^ligion with superstition, reason with 
madness, and rf»finement with barbarism. 

A narrative of these scenes with the achievements of the 
particular characters and the events as they occurred^ can 
give no adequate idea of the reality :• language cannot de- 
scribe, the pencil cannot express, the distresses of these king- 
doms during this eventful period. But the crusades laid the 
found Uion ; and by the aid of chivalry, broke the char-m, and 
opened the way for commerce and letters, to accomplish the 
refinement of Europe. 

Chivahy, which for it- excesses became the subject of rid- 
icule in later ^iges, and called forth the keen satire of Cer- 
vantes, (author of Don Quixotte,) had its origin in the elev- 
enth century, sprang from the purest motives, had for its ob- 
ject the most laudable purposes, and was accompanied with 
the most beneficial effects, until its virtues were lost in its ex- 
cesses and extremes. Valor, humanity, courtesy, justice, 
virtue, chastity and honor, were the characteristic principles 
of chivalry : religion, without its enthusiastic zeal, would 
have been one of its shining virtues ; but with this zeal, be- 
came one of its excesses. Even kings paid the highest trib- 
ute of respect to knighthood. 

Chivalry was regarded as the school of honorable refine- 
ment, encouraged the most delicate intercourse between the 
sexes, and enforced the nicest obserrance of all their engage- 
ments : as the standard of valor, religion, love and virtue, its 
iniluenre v> as irresistible. 

Chivalry rescued woman from the fangs of degraded weak- 
ness, oppression and wretchedness, and paved the way for all 
the enjoyments she has since obtained. When chivalry ran 
mad, Cervantes destroyed it with his pen : then commerce, 
literature and the arts, became the refiners of manners, and 
brought civil society to its present state of refinement. Even 
the crusades themselves, were nothing more nor less, than 
chivalry upon a large scale, and produced the same effects 
upon society. 

The monastic life, was a steady opposer to chivalry : this 



112 MONKERY. 

ran into the opposite extreme : this took its rise anf)ongst the 
christians in t')e east, and extended throughout the christian 
world. Not only sohtude and celibacy with all their rigors, 
became general ; bnt the extravagant austerities of the monks 
threw a cloud over Christendom. 

/In order to strip human nature of its humanity, they took 
up their abode in dens and caves, amongst the beasts of the 
forest, as wild, naked, and savage a-= themselves. They 
dwelt in the clefts of c^:^gged rock-; : the more distressing and» 
torraenting their situation, the higher the marks of sanctity/ 
Some styled Stylites, took their stand in some conspicuous 
position, upon the top of sonif:; lofty pillar, where they stood 
night and da}'-, for years ; through all the extremes of the 
weather and the seasons ; whilst thousands, and tens of thou- 
sands, were immured in their monastic cells, secluded from 
their friends, society and the world. 

Society have long since decided, which of the two, the 
knights or the monks, -became the most corrupt ; were guilty 
of the greatest excesses, and became the most obnoxious to 
men, and to God — but I forbear : the extremes ©fall the 
virtues become corruption : and the example of former ages, 
ought to serve as beacons, to guard us against the same evils. 



CHAP. IX. 



England through the reign of William I. — William II. — Hen- 
ry I. — Germany and France to the second crusade. 

William the conqueror, by his conciliatory deportment, 
soon found himself firmly seated upon the Engli.-<h throne, and 
ventured to pay a visit to his friends in Normandy. This 
proved unseasonable : he had founded his usurpation upon 
the ruins of English liberty, and secured it, as he supposed, 
by placing in the government of both church and state his 
chosen Norman friends, to the utter exclusion of every Eng- 
lishman. 

This had sown the seeds of disaffection, which brok'e out 
into open violence, as soon as the conqueror was withdrawn ; 
and England became a theatre of insurrection and civil war. 
Foreign alliances were fo^rmed, and a general revolution con- 
templated. William, alarmed for the safety of his kingdom, 
hastened back, ravaged the kingdom with fir« and sword. 



WILLIAM SI. 



iia 



until he had quelled the rebellion. With great severity he 
confiscated all the estates of the insurgents, established a des- 
potic sovereignty, and an ecclesiastica! independence in Eng- 
land, and set the pope at defiance, by arresting and imprison- 
ing, (beyond sea,) Odo, earl of Kent, in the character of 
Bishop of Bayeaux ; who was intriguing for the papacy. 
William determined to humble the spirit of these haughty 
Britons, by not only placing all power in the hands of his 
Normans, but by rooting out even their language. For this 
purpose he caused the Norman language to become the lan- 
guage of the court, and of ail records ; to be taught in ali 
the schools, and become the language of the bar ; caused a 
survey of all estates in England, which instituted the dooms- 
day-book, which is of value to this day. 

William humbled a rebellion headed by his son Robert, in 
Normandy ; chastised Philip I. king of France, for an inso- 
lent witticism at his expense, by carrying fire and sword into 
his dominions -, and died from a bruise, received in this mad 
career, 1087. William left ths duchy of Normandy to Rob- 
ert, England to William, and to Henry, his youngest son, the 
possessions of his mother, Matilda, daughterof Baldwin, earl 
of Flanders. 

William II. pursued the policy of his father, in his severi- 
ty towards his English subject;^ ; and by the suppression of 
several insurrections, increased their humiliation. He hum- 
bled the Scotch and Welch, carried his arms into Normandy, 
where he met with a perilous escape on his return, purchas- 
ed Normandy of his brother Robert, for ten thousand marks, 
took possession of the ducby,aud his brother be<:ame an ad- 
venturer in the first crusade, 1096. He humbled St. Aaselm, 
archbishop of Canterbury ; set the pope. Urban II. at defi- 
ance, and took the prelacy into his own hands about five years. 

He restored the crown of Scotland, by his arms, to iVIal- 
eolm III. the rightful heir ; expelled the Dan«s, from the 
island of Anglesea : these have not since invaded England. He 
built the Tower, London bridge, and Westminster hall ; last- 
ing monuments of the greatness of his mind. William was 
upon the point of embarking for France, to take possession of 
the provinces of Guienne and Poictiers, by purchase ; (a sale 
made to raise money to embark in the firfct crusade,) when he 
was shot by Wilter Tyrrel, a French gentleman who accom- 
panied the king u)»on a hunting match in his new forest. 

William died in the year 1 100 without issue. His brother 
10 * 



114 



HENRY li 



Henry stepped on to the throne, and was proclaimed kinA* 
ilenry secured the throne, by promising to restore the la^s 
of Edwwrd the confessor, restoring the Archbishop Aaselm 
to the see ofCinterbury ; and marrying Matilda, daughter 
of Malcolm III. king of Scotland, and niece of Edgar Atheling. 
These wise measures secured the throne to Henry, against 
the disaffected Norman baroas, and against the inv^asion of his 
brother Robert, upon his return from the crusade. 

Henry, by his intrigues, took advantage of the feuds in 
Normandy, seized Robert, conveyed him to England, took 
possession of the duchy, and suffered his brother to languish 
twenty-eight years, in the castle of Cardiff, where he died. 
Henry, by his liberality and intrigues, held at bay the claims 
of William, son of Robert, upon the duchy of Normandy, and 
by his sword established his dominion. The loss of his son 
William, on his return from Normandy, was made, up to Hen- 
ry in some measure, by a son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, eld- 
est son of Count Anjou, and ^husband of Matilda, his only 
daughter. 

Henry made tliii grandson his heir, by causing his English 
and Norman subjects to swear fealty to him ; then took up 
his residence in Normandy, where he died, aged sixty-seven, 
having reigned thirty-five years. Henry was a learned, wise 
and valiant prince. 

Henry promised to restore the laws of Edward the confes- 
sor, as a guarantee to their Saxon liberties ; but as soon as 
he found himself firmly seato iupon tue throne, he confirmed 
the policy of William L and established the feudal system, 
with all its rigors, upon the ruins of Saxon liberty in England ; 
and by his coufiscations, and attainders, seized oa great pos- 
sessions. With these he enriciied the Norman barons, whom 
he protected by his military force, and with whom he formed 
a national assembly ; creatures of his power, and creatures 
ofhi^ will, who riveted the chains of slavery upon every free 
born Eaglishman. 

Despotism now commenced the reign of terror in England ; 
and avarice, with all her corruptions, augmented the distress- 
es of the scene, and laid the foundation for all the future 
Struggles of prerogative, and privilege, which cost England 
so much blood, and treasure, to recover her Saxon liberties^ 
in alter days. Henry carried on successful war with Lewis 
VI. of France, styled the gross, who hud succeeded Philip 
the I. and who, after a wise ttfid popular reign, died. 



CASTLE OF WEINSBUR®. 116 

leaving the throne of Guienne, and Poictou, to his son, Lewi? 
VII. 

Henry V. of Germany, having left no issue, Lothario, duke 
of Saxe Sijppi..mberg, was dected, and crowned at Aix !a- 
Chapelle. He in his turn, m irched into Italy, settled a quar- 
rel between the rival popes. Innocent II. and Anacletus II. ; 
called Innocent out of France, and placed him in the chair ; 
was crowned by the pope, emperor of Germany, and suppor- 
ted Innocent a2:ainst all the wealth and force of Anacletus, 
who died or grief and mortification. 

Lothario died on his way to Germany, and was succeeded 
by Conrad III. duke oflPranconia, and nephs^t. to Henr}' V. 
The family of Guelphs, under Henry, duk'^ of Bavaria, com- 
menced a claim upon tbe imperial crown. The contest was 
sharp ; Hem;}' soon died, but his brother Guelph prosecuted 
the claim with his sword. I'he pope espoused the cause of 
Henry ; which fixed the name of Guelph to the partizans of 
the popes. 

Frederick, duke of Svvabia, brother of the emperor, de- 
fended Conrad. He was born at the village of Heighibeline, 
which gave to his party the name of Ghibelincs ; and these 
epithets continued to distingtiisb the. parties of the popes, and 
emperors, in all their after j-truggles. This contest gave rise 
to an anecdote worthv of notice. 

Conrad besieged Guelph, and his followers, in tbe castle of 
Weinsburg, who being about to ssirrender at discr6tion, the 
dutches requested permission, that she, and the women might 
retire, vvith what they could carry, to a place of safety. The 
ettjperor granted the request ; and to his astonishment, be- 
held the dutchess march out with her husband upon her back, 
together with all the women, staggering along under the 
weight of their husbands. Conrad applauded that conjugal 
affection which bad saved their husbands from the vengeance 
of his sword. 

During these scenes in Germany, a revolution was at- 
tempted in tbe government at Rome, and quelled by pope 
Eugenius III. A second crusade w^as preached by St. Ber- 
nard, against the Saracens ; another against the Moors in 
Spain, and another by the Saxons in Germany, against the 
pagans of the north. The last was a war of extermination, 
without one solitary convert. Conrad died 1152, and was 
succeeded by his nephew, FrtMerick, duke of Swabin, styled 
Barbarossa. 



116" SECOND CRUSADE. 

During the civil war in Germany, Lewis VII. king of 
France, in the midst of his feudal wars, caused the town of 
Vitn to be burnt, which consumed 1300 persons in one 
church, who had fled to this sanctuary for safety. This Iior- 
riilact, caused such remorse in the mind of Lewis, as led him 
to favor the second crusade, to atone for his cruelty. 

St. Bernard, like Peter the hermit, set at defiance the re- 
monstrances of Suger, abbot of St. Dennis, and primate of 
France, proclaimed the crusade throughout Frlmce, Italy, 
and Germany, and drew in his train, Lewis, king of France, 
Conrad HI. emperor of Germany, and Frederick, duke of 
Svvahia, (afterwards -emperor) with the knights of France, 
G*>rmany, and Italy, generally. Each army could mnster 
70,000 knights in complete armor, and the whole force ac- 
cording to Mr. Russell, amounted to 1,600,000. 

Here the old scenes of the first crusade were renewed ; the 
same sufferings by the way, the same excesses ; and the same 
disasters in Asia minor. Conrad, emperor of Germany, met 
with a total overthrow by the sultan of Iconium ; fled to An- 
tioch for Sr^fety ; thence to Jerusalem as a pilgrim ; and 
thence back to Germany as a fugitive in distress. 

Lewis VH. met with a similar overthrow near Laodicea ; 
lost his queen by the amours of the prince of Antioch ; fled 
to Jerui ilem as a pilgrim ; and back to France, with a few 
ragged followers, in distress and despair. 

The divorce of queen ElcDor, caused her marriage with 
Henry Plantagenet, duke of Normandy, count of Acjou and 
Maine, and presumptive heir to the crown of England, and 
carried with her the provinces of Poictou, and Guienne : all 
which laid the foundations for the future wars between 
France and England. 



CHAP. X. 



England during the rer^n of Stephen — Henry II. — the church, 
with a continuation of the second crusade — Germany, and 
the third crusade. 

Upon the death of Henry of England, Stephen, count of 
Boulog;ne, and gran-lson of William the conqueror, by his 
daughter Adela, seized upon the throne, to the exclusion of 



ENGLISH BARONS. 117 

Matilda, and her young son Henry. The bnrons and clergy 
supported Steph;^n, as being better adapted to the necessity 
of the times, tlian a woman and an irifnet. Stephen, in hie 
tuni, granted thenri every indulgence consistent with the safe- 
ty of his crown ; even to coin money, erect castles, and to 
garrison them with their own troops. 

These indulgencies not only weakened, and almost des- 
troyed the authority of the crown, but laid the foundations 
for those wars of the barons, which afterwards drenched Eng- 
land with blood. In the mid^t of this anarchy, Dafid, king 
of Scotland, invaded England with a powerful araiy, to en- 
force the claiois of his niece Matilda ; was defeated at the 
battle of the Standard, with great slaughter, and made his es- 
cape into Scotland. 

Matilda next landed in England from Normandy, asserted 
her own rights, and kindled a civil war, whicia raged with 
such violence as to produce a genera! famine, that greatly 
distressed the kingdo.u. Stephen was taken prisoner, load- 
ed with irons, and thrown into prison. The storm was ap- 
parently hushed. Stephen was called from his prison, and 
exchanged for Robert, the brother nnd charapion of M#tilda, 
and the war was rekindled. This again was soon quelled by 
mutual consent, and Matilda returned to Normandy. 

Prince Henry, now sixteen years of age, went over into 
England, thence into Scotland, thence into Normandy again, 
and upon the death of his father, he took possession of the 
provinces of Ar jou and Maine, espoused Elenor the divorc- 
ed queen of Lewis VH. king of France, who brought him 
Guienne and Poictou, and placed him upon a foundation, to 
recover his claims upon the crown of England. 

Two years after this, Henry invaded England ; the barons 
espoused his cause, and in the midst of the alarming state of 
the parties, the claims of Henry were settled with Stephen, 
by an agreement ; that Henry should succeed to the throne 
upon the death of Stephen, and he withdrew from the king- 
dom. Stephen died the next year, and Henry succeeded to 
the throne. 

The wretchedness of England at this time was truly dis- 
tressing ; famine, distress and desolation, raged on all sides ; 
multitudes fled into exile, others built sorry huts in the 
churchyards, took refuge in the«e sanctuaries of the dead, 
and fed on pulse, roots, dogs and horses : whole villages were 
deserted, and thousands died of hunger. 

Henry gave a new face to this wretched country. He 



118 THOMAS A BECKET. 

dismissed all the foreign tnercenarie? of Stephen, nnd restor- 
ed the charter of liberty of Henry I. ; by which means all 
this mighty storm was hushed into a general calm ; but the 
war u'hich broke out between Henry, and Lewis VII. of 
France, l«''d Henry to seethe nnwieldly modp of waiting war 
(according to the feudal system) by means of the barons, and 
their vassals. He therefore levied a tax of three pouslds up- 
on *^ach knight's fee ; with this money he rai-ed tt'e Jirst 
independent army, and brought the war to a speedy close. 

Henry next turned his a(t*^ntion to the church, wltero he 
found the sale of indulgencies, and the composition of pen- 
ances, raised more annual revenue than the crown ; he set 
himself to vvork to coriectthis : atask indeed ! The church 
had become the sink of corruption, and claimed exemption 
from all civil jurisdiction : murders, robberies, and assassi- 
nations, were committed daily by ecclesiastics, with impuni- 
ty ; more than one hundrtd were proved upon men in holy 
orders, since his accession, without even an inquiry into 
them. 

To eflfect this great object, the correction of the abuses of 
the mitre, Hensy advanced Thomas aBecket, his chancellor, 
to the see of Canterbury ; the first instance of English pro- 
motion, since the days of William the conqueror. 

B^'.cket was a spUndid courtier, gay in his amusements, 
fond of diversions, a jovial sportsman ; yet he knew how to 
render his indu*try useful to his master. Becket knew the 
motives of the kiug; felt his elev ifed station, and determin- 
ed to make the mcst of it. He threw oflf the character of the 
chancellor, and put on the character of the saint : assumed' 
tlse sev^'rest monkish austerity, and mortification ; wore 
sackcl ;th next to his skin ; and became a beast of dirt and 
vermin ; bis food was br^^ad and water ; and his back was 
often lacerated with penitential scourgings. Daily upon his 
knees, in imitation of the Saviour of men, he washed the feet 
of thirteen beggars, and dismissed them with presents. The 
sanctity, and mortification of the holy primate, together with 
his sacred devotions, aK became the wonder, and adaiiration 
of the natton. 

This knight of the cross, in this citadel of sanctity, levied 
war upon the king. A parish clerk in Worcestershire first 
debauched a gentleman's daughter, and then murdered the 
father. Ho-ry demanded that the offender should be deliv- 
ered up to the magistrate. Becket claimed the privileges of 



THOMAS A. BECKET. IIJ^ 

the church, and demanded that he should only be degraded. 
Henry summoned a council to try the q'-iestioa ; they were 
unsound. He assembled another at Clarendon, composed 
of bishops and nobles ; eubjnitied the g^reni question, which 
produced what was call;.d the con.siitutions of Clarendon. 
Henry ordered the constitutions to be reduced to writing, 
and signed, and sealed by all the prelates, wijh a promise to 
observe them legally, and in goodfaith, and wW'.ont fraud, or 
reserve, aiid sealed tiie wiiole by an oath. With all this, the 
primate Becket was obliged (though with great reluctance) 
to comply. 

The copy of the constitutions of Clarendon, as signed, 
sealed, and sworn to, Henry sent to the pope, Alexander HI. 
for the ratification of his holiness. The j'ope abrogatt^d, 
annulled, and rejected them. This kindled afresh the auste- 
rities of Becket, and he declined all ecclesiastical duties, until 
he had received absolution froiji the pope. This he soon 
obtained, and then gave full scope to his obstinate ambition. 

COIVSTITITTIONS OF CLAREXDON. 

Voted, without opposition, that no chief tenant of the 
:rown, shall be excommunicated, or have hi.« lands put under 
m interdict, without the king's consent ; that do appeals in 
spiritual causes shall be carried before the holy see, nor any 
:iergyman be suffered to depart the kingdom, unless witli 
:he king's permission ; that laymen shall not be accused in 
•piritual courts, except by legal, and respectable promoters, 
md witnesses ; and lastly, that churchmen, accused of any 
;rime, shall be tried in the civil courts. 

The rejection of these articles by the pope, and the hough- 
y overbearing spirit of Becket, called forth the energies of 
ienry. He sumnioned Becket to give an account of the 
evenues of all the abbie^, prelacies, and baronies, which 
vere subject to his management, as chancellor. This kind- 
ed the hre , Becket intrenched himself aj^ain more stroiiirly 
n his citadel of austerity, and sanctity, defied the arm of the 
aw, strictly prohibited all his suffragans to assist in any man- 
er, in any tnal against him ; put himself under the protec- 
ion of the vicar of Christ, and made hiu appeal to his holiness, 
1 the face of the constitutions which he iiad signed, sealed, 
nd svvorn to obey. This was his style : *' The indignation 
fa great monarch, such as Henry, with his eword, can onl^ 



120 THOMAS A BECKET. 

kill the bofly ; while that of the church, entrusted to the pri- 
mate, can kill the soul, and throw the disobedient into iafiiiite 
and eternal perdition.'' 

Becketupon thi^ reftired to France, where he was honor- 
ed, and distinguished by the pope, and other potentates. The 
exclamations of the exile, filled Henry with anxiety, and all 
Christendom with intrigue, about six years. The primate 
triumphed over Henry, so far, that he was honorably restor- 
ed to his see of Canterbury, and enjoy»^d his usual honors. 

Henry had retired into Normandy during this controversy, 
and Becket rode in triumph through England, and proclaimed 
war against Henry, with renewed violence, threatening with 
spiritual thunders, all the prelates who had assisted at the 
coronation of the king. All this was mor^, than the high 
spirit of Henry could bear ; and he exclaimed, " Will my 
servants still leave me exposed to the insolence of this un- 
grateful and imperious priest ?" This armed four of the 
king's household, who passed over into England, and Becket 
fell by the hand of the assassin. 

The death of the primate filled Henry with more distress, 
than his life ; he shut himself up threedays, denying himself 
all sustenance, as well as the light of the sun ; and by a so- 
lemn embassy, attempted to appease the vengeance of the 
pope, by protesting his innocence. 

His holiness listened graciously ; whilst all Europe re- 
sounded with the praises of the holy martyr, whose sacred 
tomb wrought all manner of miracles ; restored the dead to 
life, both men, women and children ; dogs, horses and cows ; 
and was loaded with presents from all parts of Christendom, 
to obtain his intercessions in heaven ; this tomb received the 
devotions of more than one hundred thousand pilgrims in one 
year. . 

In the midst of this religious frenzy, Henty undertook the 
conquest of Ireland, then in its most rude and barbarous state ; 
governed by the laws of force, which were executed by mur- 
ders, assassination, and pillage. 

After the conquest of Ireland, Henry repaired to Nor- 
mandy to meet the pope's le^^ates ; settled his peace with the 
church, by clearing himself by oath, from all concern in 
Becket's death ; made some concessions which were satisfac- 
tory, and this storm was hushed ; but another sprung up in 
its place. 

His son, prince Henry, demanded accession to the throne 



SENRY AT THE TOMB OP BECICET. 121 

ol' England or Normandy ; Elenor his queen, and his two 
you urer sons, backed by the king of France, then Lewis VII. 
supported the claim. This threw Henry into a new dilem- 
ma, and brought hini to the feet of that sovereign pontiff, (to 
pray out thunders upon his enemi;^?,) whose power he had 
so boldly withstood in the affair of Becket. 

Alexander III. poured out his thunders most powerfully ; 
but without effect. Henry drew the sword, and to prepare 
the public mind for the conflict, he did penance for the death 
of Thomas a Becket, by going barefoot to the tomb of Beck- 
et, and watchiag the holy relics, one whole day and night, ex- 
posing his naked back to the flagellations of the monks, which 
they, remembering the old grudge, put on severely. He 
then received absolution, and the reconciliation of heaven 
was announced by a signal victory obtained that day, by his 
generals over the Scots ; their king was taken prisoner, and 
tranquillity restored. What cannot ignorance and supersti- 
tition perform ! This peace in England, was followed by a 
peace in Normandy. Henry now floated quietly upon the 
fide of superstition, and enacted many wise and salutary laws, 
for the good of his people, and the security of his crown. 

Even Lewis VII. king of France, under the influence of 
fanaticism, made a pilgrimage to Becket's tomb, to obtain 
his intercession in heaven, for the recovery of his sick son, 
Pbilip recovered, and the next year succeeded to the throne, 
upon the death of his father, and took tiie title of Augustus. 

Philip II. excited, and supported an insurrection in Hen- 
ry's son against his father, which humbled his power, broke 
his spirits, and brought him to his grave, at the castle of Chi- 
non in Normandy, in the tifty-eighth year of his age. The 
whole reign of Henry had fanned that fire of liberty, which 
was so immediately connected, in after days, with privilege, 
and prerogative, and restored the Saxon privileges. 

The dependence of the emperors of Germany, upon the 
popes, for the crown of the Romans, (beneficium Romani 
Inaperii,) and the independence they claimed as sovereigns 
of the Germau empire, kept up a constant collision between 
the two sovereignties ; occa»ioned all those quarrels whioh 
have blackened the annals of both parties, ann rendered the 
ptpes so contemptible ; and called forth the sword of the 
Othos, and Henries to do themselves justice, and humble 
the haughty pontiffs. 

Adrian IV. a mendicant friai, an Englishman, and son of 
1! 



■22 ADRIAN IV. AND FREDERIC. 

ci mondicants wa^^now upon the papa! throno, defiling out his 
cDnditionnl permissions to Ben?y li. to coviq«i r Irelim! ; de- 
manding of Frederic, the eniperor, that he should kiss liis 
gre^it toe, hold his stirnip when he mou!)t(^i^ Ids horse, and 
](:ad him b}' the bri He when he had u.ounted. All this rou- 
sed the indigfiation ol the emperor ; he set the {)ope at defi- 
ance, huml'led the revolt d R' iietniar?, cr»nque!-ed Poland, 
secured the fidelity of G roiany affl a tranquil throne, until 
the feuds of the papacy ajjaiv! entangled hiniin the contested 
election of two popes, Victor IV. hthI Al:.!Xander III. 

Tills controversy cmbroih.d the empire with the states of 
Italy, who were sujiported by the emperor of Cofistantinople. 
.ird the coiiflict in It dy was severe and bloody. In this civ-' 
i! war in Ilaly, the city of Milan was given up to the flames, 
and rc<hic* d to o heap of rui:s. T!(e emperor escaped very 
narro^^ly '• ■ •- ''^"'spei'iite co;.tt'sts 'vith the confederates ; 
especially laclion with the Venetians, in which his 

elde^-.tson j.. V v;,smade prisoner. _ 

AleXaiidor lil. triuiiiphed over his rival ; the emperor was 
obliged ti5 siihmit to the dema!)ds of his holiness, kiss his feet. 
hold his stirrup, and lead his horse. Frederic, upon this, 
received the .^-ubmi-'sioi) cf Italy, with the oath of allegiance, 
a^^ r'tnrned into Germany,, where he found more work cut 

Olii f 

'i Im ' rag:;d, from 1169 to 1177, and the 

empox'-oru ; to burnhle Henry, d'il>e of Saxor^j^, 

wh.csp pji i by his m-irriage with a daughter of 

the k;i:g of Evigland. Frederic soon put him to the ban of 
thr e:: plre, and se t him off to Eiigland, where he raist'd up 
lliT^ >' k tiiat founded tlie house of Bruriswick, from which 
?pia:.: i; •! pi -sent rcicrrjina: fandly on the throne of England. 

At thi"^ time, 1181, Syhdin the great, raliph *of Egypt, 
ovf^^T) m ?"'^ ria, took veuL'-ance on the christians, destroyed 
tl'O, i;i' ■;d-:!:i cf J ;-r!isa!em. and of Antioch. took these cities, 
r<nd cha;-?d ihf cl)ri h;:ns from all ti^eir conquests in Asia." 
All Christendom was lull of con?ternalion. Clement the HI. 
ordered a third crusade to be preached throughout christen- 
doia ; Fre'.lrric Barbarossa put himself at their head, with 
his son, the duke of Suabia, with an army of 150,000 men : 
Jiiid Hungary ui'der contribution in his route ; humbled the 
Greek emperor ; marched triumphant on to the plains of 
Asia ; made the citit s^of the east, and their troops, treaible 
at his sword ; bached in the cold river Cydnus, after the 



JPAIPAIL gTLTFMIBMA€iro 




toki^s M^^^r^erit toe. This tnum/ih vft/w Beasf f^„^Yt 

t7i€ way for tJwt hmnOia^ion w7fm rrfU ulti)nafdv mm// itt 



DEATH OF, FREDERIC. 12<I 

* 

manner of the hero of Macedon, took a disease, and died. 
Thus fell the hero of the third crusade, in the midst of this 
mad career ofglory, in the tiiirty-elghth year of his age, and 
was succeeded by his son Henry Vi, 

Philip the I. was now in quiet possession of the crown of 
France, and Richard I. son of Henry H. upon the death of 
his father, was in possession of the crown of England. These 
two princes were engaged, heart and hand, in this crusade, 
and upon a new plan. They assembled an army of one hun- 
dred thousand men on the plains of Vezelay, in France ; 
marched to the ports of Genoa, and Marseilles, where they 
each embarked his army for the hol,y land ; were forced by 
stress of wealher to winter at Messina ; were entangle^! in an 
intrigue with the king <^f Naples ; quarrelled with the i^Ies- 
sinians ; and quarrelled 'vith each other : Richard seized on 
the city of Mesiiua, and planted his standard on the walls ; 
tliey settled their quarrels, and again embarked upon their 
adventure, 11 91. 

Richard was wrecked upon the isle of Cyprus, some of his 
vessels plundered, and their crews imprisoned : Richard took 
vengear.-e on the tyrant, repaired his fleet, and again set sail 
for Palestine. 



CHAP. XI. 

Third crusade continued — Richard, king of England, a cap- 
tive in Germany — John, successor to Richard — Magna 
Charta. 

The christians had pushed the siege o'^ . , a strong 

seaport town in Palestine, in posse-sion ol tae Saracens". 
This siege had proved fatal (o Frederiv': H. son and successor 
of Frederick I. emperor of Germany, and ruinous to his ar- 
my. Here Richard landed his army, joined Philip again, and 
took part in the siege. Here Richard displayed his tnje 
English valor ; Ptolemais was taken ; after a desperate de- 
fence and the governor stipulated " that the great Saladin 
should pay a round sum of money for the i'ansom of the gar- 
rison ; dismiss two thousand five huudred christian prisoners 
of distmction, and restore the true wood of the cross." 

Thu» fell Ptolemais, the citadel of Palestine, after a two 
years siege, " which cost the christians t^ree hundred thou- 



124 FALL OF PTOLEMAIS. 

sand men, exclusive of persons of a superior rank ; six arch- 
bij'hopfi, twelve bishops, forty earls, and five hundred bar- 
ons/' 

The nnartial superiority of Richard disgusted Philip; he 
renewed his oath of peace, and ami(y, left Richard ten thou- 
sand men under the Duke of Bnr2;undy, and returned with 
his army to France, touched at ltd}' on his way, and applied 
to Clement III. to at-, olve him from his oath, who refused : 
and he attempted to manage by intrigues, when he returned 
to France, what his oath restrained him from doing by open 
hostility. 

Richard put himself ai the head of the confederates, and 
marched to the siege of Ascalon ; Saladin with an army of 
three hundred thousand men, disputed his passage ; an ac- 
tion ensued, as memorable as the siege of Ptolemais ; the 
conflict was despepate, and tlje carnage terrible ; forty thou- 
sand Saracens strewed (he iield of death ; the christians were 
triumphant ; Ascalon fell into their hands, and opened a way 
to Jerusalem. 

In full viewof the great object of their enterprise, and la- 
bours, a magical languor seized all the princes, they resolved 
to abandon the enterprize, settled a peace with Saladin, and 
returned to Europe. This peace stipulated, ** that the chris- 
tians should keep possession of the strong towns they had 
conquered in Palestine ; have a free and safe access to Je- 
rusalem, for their pilgrimages, for the space ef three years, 
three months, three weeks, and three days." Saladin died at 
Damascus soon after. 

Richard, on his return home, inthegarb of a pilgrim, was 
seized, and imprisoned by Leopold, duke of Austria, who was 
his companion in arms, at the siege of Ptolemais, and who 
sold him to the emperor Henry VI. who loaded him with 
irons, and immured him in a dungeon m the heart of Germany. 
At the same time, Phihp, king of France, exerted all his pew- 
ers of intrigue, to purchase Richard, seize on Normandy, and 
even by an intermarriage with a princes of Denmark, to reco- 
ver fo himself the Danish claims on the throne of England. 

Amidst these scenes of perfidy, the clamors of the pope, 
and the diet of Germany, co^ipelled the emperor to withhold 
the sale of Richard from the king of France, and restore him 
to his own subjects ; which he did, for the ransom of fifty 
thoasand marks : (three hundred thousand pounds sierliog.) 
These are the princes who were the champions of the cross. 



KING RICHARD. 126 

and these scenes serve to shew the perfidy, corruption, and 
depravity of that enthusiastic age of barbarism. 

The joy of the English nation, upon the arrival of Richard, 
was inexpressible : but the chagrin and alarm of Philip, were 
best expressed in this caution to John, brother of Richard, 
who had been his confederate in his intrigues ; " take care 
of yourself, Richard has broke loose." Richard had n» 
sooner recovered his throne, than he carried war into Nor- 
mandy, to revenge the. perfidious intrigues of Philip, and hie 
brother John. John submitted, craved pardon, and Richard 
granted it, with this expression : " I hope I shall as easily 
forget his offences, as he will my pardon." 

Richard returned to England, besieged count Vidomar in 
his castle, for the sake of plunder, was wound«d by an arrow, 
and died. Thus fell Richard I. king of England, the hero of 
Palestine, and the idol of England, with the title of Cceur de 
Lion, (or the lion hearted hero.) 

The pardoned John, bis brother, of Normandy, (stained 
with the blood of Arthur, his nephew, who was his competi- 
tor for the crown, and whom he slew with his own hands, 
whilst upon his knees begging for mercy,) succeeded to the 
throne, 1 199. The inhuman murder of Arthur, drew upon 
John the vengeance of his English subjects : they even made 
overtures to Philip II. king of France, to revenge the barba- 
rity: Philip embraced the ftvourable moment, seized on Nor- 
mandy, Anjou, Maine, Touraine, and part of Poictou, and ad- 
ded them to the crown of France. John fled to England, 
here he became the sport of his bar®ns, and the pope. 

Clement III. attempted to exercise his sovereignty, in ap- 
pointing an archbishop of Canterbury : John opposed ; Cle- 
ment issued his spiritual thunders, with a sentence of depo- 
sition. To enforce these thunders, the pope profl'ered to 
Philip of France, the eternal joys of heaven, together with 
the crown of Eugland, if he would enforce the decrees. 
Philip readily accepted, levi<^d a great army, togither vvith 
a fleet of seventeen hundred vessels, to execute the decree. 
John as formidably prepared for defence, and all Europe was 
aliv^ to the issue. 

In the midst ofthis vast preparation, Innocent III. receiv- 
ed the submission of John ; sent Pandolfo, his legate, into 
England to receive the homajj^e of t;e king ; and at the 
hands of Jo^in, took the crown of England to himself. John 
upon his kneos before the throne of the legate, resigned Ws 

11* 



126 HOMAGE OF KING JGHri. 

crown, and swore fealty to Innocent III. ; this wag the 
style : 

" I John, by the grace of God, king of England, and lord 
of Ireland, for the expiation of my sins, and out of my own 
free will, with the ad?ice and consent of my barons, do give 
unto the chnrcJi of Rome, and to pope Innocent III. and his 
successors, the kingdoms of England and Ireland, together 
with all the rights belonging to them ; and will hold them of 
the pope, as his vassal. I will be faithful to God, to the 
church of Rome, to the pope my lord, and to his successors 
lawfully appoint^'d, and I bind myself to pay him a tribute of 
one thousand marks of silver yearly, viz. seven hundred for 
the kingdom of England, and three hundred for Ireland." 
John W41S absolved, and after five days, again invested with 
the regalia of majesty, 1213. 

Philip, stung with mortification and rage, to be duped by 
such a pious fraud, resolved to execute his purpose, even 
against the commands of the pope. A coalition took place 
between Otho I V. emperor of Germacy, and John : the'^two 
monarchs assembled an army in Flanders, and threatened 
the ruin of Philip. This was the first German^ and English- 
confederacy in Flanders^ 1214. 

Philip triumphed over this league, in a desperate battle 
nearLi^le, and gained an honorable peace ; Tind John would 
have been content with destroying the French naval arma- 
ment, could he have enjoyed his crown in peace ; but he was 
cal!ed to pass through new scenes. 

England, by the Norman conquest, had become a feudal 
military kingdom, the despotic power of the crown was plant- 
ed upon the ruins of Saxon liberty, and the people were vas- 
sals to the king, and the barons. The voice of the people 
had long been smothered under t'lis oppression, and"the bar- 
ons had often complained of the oppressions of the crown ; 
now all parties were agreed to commence an attack upon the 
crown, and bring this weak king to terms, 

Privileiieset up her claims against prerogative, and drew 
the sword. John soon yielded, and opon a conference at 
the ever memorable Runemede, signed, and sealed the ever 
memorable Magna Charta, (..r great charter,) the palladium 
ofEnglish liberty, June 19, 1215. 

This charter, so dear to every Englishman, was also the 
palladium of those liberties,, which our fuhers brought out 
into this wildernesg, and which have rendered their sons il* 



'' NEW CRUSADF,, 127 

iustrious and happy, beyond all former example. Thns we 
sse, how tlie sovereign of the universe, rides on the whirl- 
wind, and directs the storm, and causes the wrath of man to 
praise him. * 

Henry VI. emperor ofGermany, instituted three crusades, 
with the price of Richard's ransom ; one against the maritime 
towns of the northwest of Germany, Hamburg, &c. ; one 
against Palestine, and Jorinalem ; and the other a;>;ainst Na- 
ples and Sicily, then in rebellion. The last, he headed him- 
self, after he had secured a successor, by causing his infuit 
son then in the cradle, to be crowned king of the Romans, 
under the title of Frederic 11. 

Henry waged war with great cruelty, and barbarity, hum- 
bled the rebels, and in the midst of his career, died of poison, 
as was then supposed, by the order of his queen. The 
feuds in Germany raged with great violence during the mi- 
nority of Frederic, under the regency of his uncle Philip, 
duke of Suabia, and the intrigues of pope Innocent III. 
which threatened Germany, and Italy, with civil war. At 
this eventful crisis, a new crusade was formed, to recover the 
holy laud, and the feuds of Germany, France, and Italy, 
were all swallowed up in preparations for the new holy war, 
1202. 



CHAP. XII. 



Grusade against Constantinople — Germany — France, and a 
new crusade — England and France-Thorough elections in 
England. 

Baldwin, Earl of Flanders, headed this crusade. The 
storm first burst upon Zena, a city of Dalmatia, which was 
reduced and tiken in defiance of the pope. It next broke 
upon Constantinople ; this fell an easy conquest, 1204, and 
notwithstanding it was the seat of that christian church, which 
was the glory of the Roman empire in the days of Constan- 
tine, ar.d under the protection of the religion of the cross, to 
that day ; it vi^as givt^n up to pillage, rapine,.and rage ; their 
churches were plundered, their altars robbed, and made the 
theatres of every excess ; and Baldwin, after having order- 
ed the emperor to be thrown from the top of a lofty column, 
caused himself^to be proclaimed emperor. 



1^8 NEW CRUSAj>E. 

The confederates divided the spoil, together with the 
empire, and provinces ; delivered up the dominioa of the 
church to the pope, and returned, abandoning the holy war to 
su(?h only, as had got no part of the booty of the Greek em- 
pire. The pope closed the scene with this holy consolation : 
'"' God, willing to console his church by the reunion of the 
sc!iismatics, has made the empire pass from the proud, su- 
perstitious, disobedient Greeks, to the humble, pious, catho- 
lic, and submissive Latins." 

As soon as these champions of the cross had retired, the 
Greeks took up arms in various quarters ; called in the aid of 
their neighbors ; expelled the emperor Baldwin ; pursued, 
and took him prisoner near Adrianople ; cut off his head, 
legs, and arms ; gave his carcase (o the wild beasts ; and re- 
covered their ruined city, in 1206. 

The feuds of France and Germany raged under Philip and 
Otho, during these movements in the ea^t : the pope inter- 
fered, and crowned the young Frederic II. emperor, in order 
to check Otho. This kindled the torch with more violence, 
until Otho quit the field, and fled into retirement, where he 
sunk into contempt ; the peace of Germany was restored by 
thp coronation of Frederic, at Aix la-Chapellti, 1214. This 
feud was in its turn succeeded by a new crusade under pope 
Houorius III. All Christendom was now rallied to the con- 
test ; assembled their armies in Spain and Italy ; emburked 
for Syria, and landed at Ptolemais ; uad«^rtook several adven- 
tures, and fcnl<^d ; then laid siege to Damietts, aad took it. 
Tlie duke of Austria withdrew his forces, and returned home ; 
whilst the emperor sent out fresh recruits under cardinal 
Albano. 

This Beiiedictine monk claimed the chief commacd as the 
immediate representative of his holiuess, which aft'^-r much 
df'0jt>3 and iatngue, was by tie express orders of the pope^ 
yielded to him. 

The cardinal general posted his army upon the Nile, in 
Egypt, where he was soon endangered by the overflowing of 
the river, andcompt^lled to sign a cooventioo with the soldan 
of Ej^ywt ; by which he bo:!nd him«elf and followers, to with- 
draw frod. tue war for eight years, and deliver up Damietta, 
which had been tjken by the division from Spain : Egypt 
was T-f'heved in 1221. 

Vi lent disputes continued to rage ia Germany and lUily, 
Gregory iX. succeeded to the chair upon the death uf Hono- 



i^EW CRUSADE. 129 

i-ins. He caaie out with his thunders against the emperor 
Frederi • II. to compel itim to Jead another crusade. Frede- 
rick finallj. yielded and embarked for Syria, yet under the 
censures of the pope, which he treated with contempt. 
This expedition proved succesfsful, and he obtained by treaty 
with 'Vleledin, soldan of Egypt, Jerusalem, Joppa, Bethlehem, 
Nazareth, Tyre and Sidon, with all their neighboring coun- 
tries, upon the conditions of a truce of ten years, and return- 
ed t6 Italy. 

Here the old quarrel was renewed with violeJice with the 
pope, whose mortification was extreme, that the emperor 
should exceed all the champions of the cross in his conquests, 
when under the censures of the church. Gregory sowed 
the seeds of rebellion in Italy and Germany, and lit the 
the torch by a new fulmination in the foUowiig style : 

" A beast of blasphemy, replete with names, is risen from 
the sea, with the feet of a bear, the face of a lion, and mem- 
bers of other beasts ; which like the proud, hath opened his 
mouth against the holy name, not even fearing to throw his 
arrows against the tabernacle of God, and the saints that 
dwell in heaven," &c. to a great extent. 

Frederic met this bull by a reply, in which he stiles his 
holiness, " The great dragon, the antichript," of^whom it ie 
written, " and another red horie arose from the sea, and he 
thf^t gat upon him, took peace from the earth," &c. This 
quarrel rekindled the two factions of the Gudphs and Ghib- 
elines ; whose cities were given up to indiscriminate butch- 
ery. Gregory died ; Celestine IV. succeeded but eight 
days : tiien Innocent IV". succeeded to the chair, who fled into 
France, rekindled the war by a new bull of deposition, with 
orders to choose a new emperor. 

The bishops of Germany (without the nobles) assembled, 
and chose Henry, landgrave ofThuringia, and the civil war 
raged afresh. Henry died: the same council chose William, 
count of Holland ; the war raged with more violence. Fred- 
erick, pressed upon all sides, retired to Naples io recruit his 
army, where he died in the tifty-fifth year of his age, A. D. 
1250. 

The war still raged ; the clergy took up arms against the 
laity ; all laws, human and divine, w«re set at detiance, and 
Germany was drenched in blood, until the death of William, 
in I'iJSd. This opened the way, through all the factions of a 
long and distressing inierregnum, for the election of Rodolph, 
couat of Hapsburg, in V21B, 



130 HE.NRY IIi: 

Durirjo^this interregnum, the maritio.e cities of the west, 
in the whole, eigbty four town?, formed thei^imous Hanseat- 
ic league for the protection of commerce. At the head of 
these stood Cologne, Brunswic^ Lub^^c, Dantzic, Thorn, &c. 
Italj and Sicily also changed tbeir goveniraents. All the 
good that re«ultt^d from this long aad distressing struggle, 
must be looked for in the iitld of comroeice. 

The feuds in F^ngland, kept p-ice with the feuds in Germa- 
ny. As soon as the slortn '.vas laid by fRf^gOft churta, John 
aetermineu to recover his libertie:' and prerogative. He se- 
cretly empio^'ed in his service, foreign mercenary troops, 
and snnt to the pope, praying for a bull of interdiction against 
his refractory barons, and obt;'.ined his request. Thus arm- 
ed with the spiritual thuod-rs of the church, John drew his 
sword, and began the attack ; catTyii'g tire a'.id sword into 
the cisstlos of the b«rons. and throughout their villages: all 
England was one scene of deschition and di>tre.-s. 

The barons in despair, applied to Philip, king of France 
for succor ; he readily obevtH! the summo s, assainbled an 
araiy, Lewis his ehiesl son embarked, and landed in Eigland. 
John was deserted by hi^ fo'ci^;!! nierceaarii-s, sunk under 
the pressure of the war, and tied, aged A'O. 

John was a weak, corrupt, mahciou?, unfeeliog, unprinci- 
pled king ; whose whole life wa* full of evil, without any 
good, but that great charter, which was extorted from him, 
and which will ever perpetuate his nieroory. John was suc- 
ceeded by his son, Henry III. then nine years old. The earl 
of Pembroke, then mareschal of Cniihmd, and at the head of 
her armies, wfts chosen protector -.vkI guardian of Henry. 

Lewis pen.^trat'-d to Lo idon ; but at the de-^th of John, 
he found the protector not 0!"ly at the bead of the army and 
government, hut of the nation. He united all parties, and 
Lewis settled a truce, procured indemoity for his adherents, 
with a free passage to France, and Sf^t sail ; leaving England 
to eiijoy tlie fruits of all her struiigles, under a geueral calm, 
1217. 

Henry, when he came to the throne, made war upon 
Franco, and attempted to recover the ancient proviuces 
which Philip had seized; but failed, lost the remainder of 
Poictou, and returned in disgrace, 1243. During this reign 
the pope fl-^eced Englar.d.aud drew by his arts rf greater rev- 
enue than the crown. In addition to thh, he entangled Henry 



IIEKRY III. 131 

in the controversy for the crown of Sicily, upon the death of 
Frederic II. Findins his r^jJOurC'S inadequate to the enter- 
prise, he offered it to RichHid, e;u! of Cornwall, the richest 
sul>ject in Europe : Ricuard refused. This project exijaust- 
ed Eniiland, and failed' ; the pope took the disposal of the 
crou-n to iiimself, 1 .55 

Tne feuds of Germany at this time, led them to invite to 
the throL'e, the same Richard, earl of Cornwall, brother of 
Henry 111. Alfcired wit!, the title of emperor, he accepted, 
and tpent all his fortune in a vain pursuit to establish his 
crown, and returned to England in poverty and disappoint- 
ment, in 1257. 

Again the claims of privilege, and preroi^ative, were re- 
newed in England, and Henry laid tiie storm by a renewal of 
the great charter. Henry soon rekindled the storm ; the 
earl of Leicester again took the lead of t!)e disaffected barons ; 
both parties took t^e field ; a decisive battle was fought in 
Sussex ; Henry, prince Edward, and all the royal family were 
taken, and Leicester took the helm of government ; assem- 
bled a new parliament, composed of two knights from each 
shire, and two deputies from each borough. 



CHAP. XIII. 



England — France, and a ncTs) crusade under Lewis VIII — Spain 
from 1037 to 1303 — some symptoms of order. - 

The last chapter has discloseJ to ns, how privilege tri- 
umphed over prerogative, and introduced the borough elec- 
tions into parliaiiient. This branch of the government, 
(which has been a bone of contention in after days,) became 
the instrument of e?tublishing the corriinonwealtii, under 
Croravvell, and thereby swallowing up prerogative. These 
controversies make no part of this narrative ; facts, not opin- 
►ions, are the object of this work. 

Leicej^ter began his y>ersftcutions in his turn ; young Ed- 
ward made his escape, the royalists assembled, a futal battle 
was fought near Evesham, Lr^.icester was slain, his army rout- 
ed, Henry restored to his Ihrone, and the nation became 
tranquil without further effusion of blood. 



13£ ST. LEWIS. 

Prince Edward made an expedition to the holy land \u 
1270, rettirned the next year, and succeeded to the throne 
up(»n the death of his father, Henry III. who died aged 64, 
after along reign of fifty-six years. 

During this reign, Philip II. of France, had enriched hie 
crown with all thp E'lglis^h possessions on the continent, and 
left his tl. rone to Lewis Vlll. : he did nothing worthy of 
notice, died, and left his throne to Lewis IX or St. Lewis, 
1226, then twelve years old ; the regency \VBs conducted by 
the queen nnother during the minority. 

Whei) Lewis came to the tlrone, in 1236, he united in 
himself three characteis, hitherto considered as incompatible 
with each other; the monk, the hero, and philosopher ; and 
took the incontrovertible principles of justice, for the basis 
of his reign. Lewis agreeable to a vow which he made whea 
sick, passed four years in arrangins the affairs of his king- 
dom, and collecting his forces, to make an expedition to the 
holy hind. 

In 1248, he embarked upon his expedition, accompanied 
by hi> queen, his three brothers, and all the knights of 
France, touched at Cyprus, and landed in Egypt — eighteen 
hundred ships carried the army and vast military prepara- 
tions of the monarch of France ; Lewis found himself at the 
head of sixty thousand men. 

The city of Damietta was abandoned by the Saracens ; and 
fell an eas^y conquest to the arms of Lewis, in 1249. This 
was bis only success in Egypt, and this he was scon obliged to 
abandon by a convention to recover his own liberty, which 
he had lost by falling into the hands of the sohlan of Egypt, 
in a fatal battle at M?'Ssoura : here his brother Robert was 
slain by his side, and his tuo other brothers, with all his no- 
bility, made prisoners with himself. This treaty with a thou- 
sand pieces of gold, restored all the captives, and enabled 
him to draw off the shattered remnins of his army into Pales- 
tine, where he remained four years. 

During this time, the queen mother, by the assistance of a 
monk, attempted to raise 100,000 paupers in France, for the 
relief of her son. This proved the worst evil of the two ; \ 
these shephf.rds filled all France with their excesses of rob- 
bery and pillage, and in a civil war, they were subdued by 
force of arms. Lewis returned to France 1268, and ruled 
with wisdom, mod',-ration,andjustice. 

la 1264, he was created sole umpire, by the contending 



FRANCL l/NDER LEWIS VIII. 133 

parties in England, to settle their quarrels, and decided with 
that wisdom, which has ever rendered his justice illustrious. 
It has been imputed as a fault to Lewis, thfit he suffered the 
pope to shed the blood of the duke of Austria upon the scaf- 
fold, in his controversy for the crown of Sicily ; and by the 
instrumentality of the count of Anjou, to suffer the pope to 
hold the crown. 

Lewis made one more crusade against the infidels, not of 
Asia, but of Africa. He landed a strong army near the bay 
of Tunis, and attempted sword in hand to compel the king of 
Tunis to become a christian. The infidel refused : Lewis 
soon saw his army wasted with sickness ; one son die, and 
another ready to die ; and in the midst of this awful scene, 
the same plague took him off, in the fifty-sixth year of his 
age. Philip ,his son, recovered, held the Moors at ba}', and 
led back the remains of the army into France, in 1271. 

Lewis made a general reform of abuses in France, correct- 
ed the evils occasioned by his long absence on his several 
crusades ; established judicial tribunals, which checked the 
power of the nobility ; suppressed private feudal wars ; 
abolished the ordeal of single combat, relieved France from 
the exactions of the popes ; and by his wisdom, virtue and 
justice, secured peace during his reign. 

We have now brought forward England, France, Italy, 
and Germany, more than two centujies in advance of Spain, 
in order to preserve the great chain of events unbroken, 
through the rage of the crusades : we will now go back, and 
bring forward Spain from the reign of Ferdinand the great, 
son of Sancho, who united the kingdoms of Castile and Leon, 
1037. 

Here commences the reign of knight errantry. Spain 
was at this time divided into about twenty kingdoms, besides 
many independent lordships, all filled with igeorance, super- 
stition, violence, and civil wars. The lesser sovereigns 
were often engaged as mercenaries in the civil wars of the 
kings. They ranged the country on horseback, armed cap- 
a-pie with coats of m.ail, followed by their attendants, or 
squires, as adventurers of the sword, and entered into the 
service of such kings as required their arms. The sword was 
their instrument of support, and war their trade ; hence the 
reason why Spain was filled with all that enthusiasm of sin- 
gle combat, down to the close of the seventeenth century. 

A few instaucee of this romantic chivalry, may be worthy 

n 



134 CHIVALRY AND CIVIL -WARS. 

of notice. The quarrel between Sancho, and his sister An- 
rica, occasioned his assassination, whilst he besieged her in 
the citj Zamora. Three knights entered the list againt Don 
Diego de Lara, the champion of Sancho, and accuser of Au- 
rica. It must not be understood, that these three knights at- 
tacked DonDiego at once ; this was not agreeable to the hon- 
orable laws of cbivahj : the contest was single combat. 

Two champions, armed cap-a-pie in coats of mail, entered 
the lists, mounted on horses trained to the fight. At such 
distance as was ai^reed, each took his stand, armed with a 
Ion? spn.iv ; this he held with his right hand, presented to his 
anlPLM^nij^t, with the other end fixed firm in its rest : upon the 
signal given, they advanced full speed to the charge, and as 
th.*;y passed, each met his champion with the point of his 
!««pear ; this either penetrated the armour and wounded, or 
killed the knight, and threw him from bis horse : or unhors- 
ed him by the violence of the shock witliout a wound ; or 
gjaPxced, by a side stroke, and let him pass. This was the 
pastime of these champions of chivalry. 

Don Diego killed two of the champions of Aurica, and the 
tiiird was carried out of the lists by the violence of his horse^^ 
and the contest remained doubtful. The city of Toledo was 
then in the hands of the Moors, and Alphonso VI. king of 
Castile, up.dertook to subdue it by siege 1084. In this war, 
a renowned knignt, known by the name of Don Roderigo, or 
the Cid, filled "Europe with his feme, and brought many 
knights and princes from France and Italy to the siege of 
Toledo. The city was carried af'er a siege of one year, 
and ail Europe was filled with the exploits of tliese cham- 
pio-js of chivalry. 

The war was a religious war, Almanzor, king of Toledo, 
and Alphonso were fi lends, and under mutual obhgations to 
eath other ; but their religions were different, and they con- 
tirmed so by treaty, upon the surrendry of Toledo, and both 
parties continued to enjoy the same civil and reiigiuus privi- 
leges as before. 

Alphonso violated the treaty, by calling an assembly of 
bisliops, and placing a catholic at the head of the bishopric of 
Toledo, which act pope Urban II. confirmed. This kindled 
the war afresh ; two knights entered the lists, and drew the 
swoid to decide the question by single combat , (the sw^rd, 
as well as the spear, became the instrument of single combat 
in knight errantly.) The catholic champion was foiled ; a 



SPAIN CO.VTINUKD. 135 

new trial was obtained by the arcl.bi^hop, in defiance of all 
the la\v« of chivalry, and they made their appeal to the or- 
detl of tire. Both liturgies \v<t re t'rirown into the flames 5 
both were consumed, and both parties exercised their religion. 

This spirit of these parties raged with such violence in 
Spain, as to induce Alphonso to invite the Mira«nolin of Af- 
rica, (or king of the Moors,) to assist in subduing the Moors 
in Spain. This invitation he accepted, took advantage of 
their divisions, seized on the city of Seville, and confirmed 
the dominion of the Moot?;, 1097, These wars drenched 
Spain in blood, under all the extremes of chivalry. 

In 1 L47, Alphonso Henriquez, count of Portugal, expelled 
the Moors from Lisbon, and caused himself to be proclaimed 
kisig of Portugal. 

In the year 1212, the Miramolin of Africa took advantasje 
of these incessant wars in Spain, passed over with a numer-* 
0U5 army, and threatened the conquest of the country. This, 
again, was a religious quarrel : knights and princes, from all 
parts of Europe, assembled to the war. Alphonso led the 
christian army, preceded by the archbishop of Toledo, bear- 
ing the cross. The Miramolin led the Moorish army, bear- 
ing the Koran in one hand, and the sabre in the other. 

The conflicts of Palestine, and the prowess of Jerusalem, 
were renewed in the defiles of the black mountains of Spain ; 
the champions waded in blood ; the standard of the cross 
prevailed ; and the ever memorable 16th of July is still cel- 
ebrated in Toledo. The Moors were vanquished ; but the 
war still raged, and Spain knew not the enjoyment of one 
anomcnt's repose. 

In 1236, appeared Ferdinand III. or St. Ferdinand, in the 
midst of these hloody conflicts, which still raged with vio- 
lence. He took the city of Cordova, and drove out the 
Moors ; also the province of Murcia, and the ci(y of Seville ; 
he died 1252 ; his name will ever be memorable in Spain. 

Alphonso t!ie wise, or astronomer, son of Ferdinand, suc- 
ceeded to the throne. He greatly improved the learning and 
laws of Spain, and the improvements in astronomy do honor 
to his raign. He died in a league with the Moors', defending 
his crown ag&inst hi? rebellious son Sajicho, who usurped the 
throne upon the death of his father in 1303. His reign was 
short but tranquil ; he was succeeded by his son Ferdi- 
nand IV. ; his reign was turbulent, and his death worthy ef 
notice. 



lob EFFORTS FOR GENERAL PEACE. 

Two noblemen were thrown by bis tyrannic rage from the 
top of a high rock; and dashed to pieces. At the moment of 
their fall they summoned the king to meet them in the pres^ 
ence of God, in one month ; Ferdinand obeyed the summons 
at the time, and died. 

This chivalry which raged in Spain, w^s part of the same 
spirit that armed Europe against Asia, and under the banner 
of the cross, drencheJ the plains of Asia Minor, Syria, and 
Palestine i^i blood these t-.vo hundred years. 

The effects of these crusades at first increased and confirm- 
ed the power of the popes ; but at the same time increased 
the power of the kin^^s, which in process of time rose superi- 
or to the power of the popes. They greatly promoted com- 
merce, and enriched the cities of Venice, Piga, and Genoa, 
which were the more immediate carriers for Europe in the 
later expeditions. They taught the Europeans the arts and 
sciences, particular!}' the use of the shuttle and the loom ; and 
the mttnufacture of silk which soon began to flourish in Italy. 
Architecture made a part of these improvements, cities be- 
gan to rise and flourish in Italy, and throughout Europe ; and 
the magnificent castles which filled Europe, with the palaces, 
as well as the strong holds of the barons and nobles, were the 
effects of the crusades. 

The colHsions which sprang up between the barons and 
the cities, and between the rival cities themselves, called for 
the interposition of the king ; his interposition, which gene- 
rally required force, called for the aid of the people ; they 
made advantage of the strife, and obtained some degree of 
that liberty of which they were entirely deprived before ; 
when the wealth of the cities could support the authority of 
the crown by money, the king set the barons at defiance, be- 
came the man of the people, and they supported him. This 
secured what liberty the ignorance of the age was able to 
bear ; but feuds, quarrels and wars still raged. 

To give some check, or even respite from these bloody ca- 
lamities, recourse was had to the church. Religious socie- 
ties were formed, by messages, ascribed to the special inter- 
position of Heaven, to deter men from hostility. 

Ooe styled '' the truce of God" set apart those days of the 
week in which Christ suffered, lay entombed, and rose again, 
as days of general peace and reconciliation, to be observed 
as a festival of the church ; this restrained the people, but 
n^t the barons. 



L:iiYGLA.VDj WALES, AND SCOTLAND. 137 

Another association was formed for the purpose of coerc- 
ing by arms the refractory and the quarrelsome, styled " The 
brotherhood of God." These became general, supported 
the power and authority of the kings, and produced great and 
good effects. In the midst of these improvements, the code 
of Justinian's laws was discovered in Italy, and although lit- 
tle understood, yet claimed attention as a monument of Ro- 
man wisdom aod greatness, was studied, and became useful. 

The science of law, as a profession, grew out of this, and 
opened the way for other professons ; schools began to be 
esablished, colleges to be founded, and men began to feel 
something of what they now enjoy. 



CKAP. XIV. 
England under Edzi}ard I — affairs of Scotland — Edward II. 

Edward I. of Ecgland had succeeded to the throne of his 
father John in 1274, ?.nd during the reign of Alphonso the 
wise, in Spain. Ed word took the magna charta for the. stan- 
dard of his reign, jn' upon this foundation, established a 
system of wise and vigorous measurei, which changed the 
aspect of affairs, a&d gave order and tranquillity to England. 

Edward marched into Wales at tfcie request of David and 
Roderic, to settle the controversy for the crown, then in the 
hands of their brother Lewellyn, besieged Lewellyn in his 
strong hold, among the hills of Snowdon, compelled him to 
submit and resign bis crown. As soon as Edfvard had with- 
drav.'n his army, Lswellyn flew to arms, and roused up his 
countrymen to revenge the insults of the English. 

Edward again entered Wales, and by his general, Robert 
Mortimer, defeated Lewellyn, who fell in the conflict, and 
added Wales to the crown of England. Edward caused Da- 
vid the competitor of Lewellyn to be executed, together 
with all the Welch poets, that he might at one blow break 
the spirit of these hardy sons of liberty, and bury with them 
the fame of their exploits, in the songs of their bards. 

Scotland next claimed the attention of Edward. The 
Scots had waged perpetual wars \vitb the Picts, their neigh- 
bors, through all the invasions of the Danes, Romans, Sax- 
ons, Normans and French ; and in 838 had triumphed over 
■ 12 * 



130 



IMPROVEMENTS IN GOVERNMENT, 



them, and united the two kingdoms under Kenneth II. their 
69th king. This united kingdom had long been formidable 
to England, until Henry II. subdued William, kicrg of Scots, 
and compelled him to do homage for his crown. 

Richard I, absolved him from this ; and Edward I. being 
called as an umpire to settle the contested succession to the 
crown, between John Baliol, and Robert Bruce ; (competi- 
tors under female claims, about one century after the death of 
William,) by a stratagem took the crown to himself, and per- 
suaded them, when at a council in Norham castle upon Tweed, 
(in obedience to his summons, together with all the barons of 
Scotland, to acknowledge Scotland as a tirf of the crown of 
England, and swear feaUy accordingly. Edward then de- 
manded possession : this also was granted. He then confer- 
red the crown upon Baliol : this was universally approved, 
and Baliol did iiomage to Edward, and was put in possession. 

The expences of Edward obliged him to have recourse to 
his parliament for money, and was the means of establishing 
the borough elections, which we noticed before, under the 
earl of Leicester, which, to this day, make a part of the house 
of commons in England. The avowed principle of Edward, 
which led to this step, was published in his wi'it=- of election 
by way of preamble : " As it is a most equitable rule, that 
what concerns all, should be approved by all, and common 
dangers be repelled by united efforts," &:c. 

In this specimen may be seen the first features of Saxoa 
liberty, issuing from the throne, to give life, strength, and un- 
ion to a nation so long oppressed by feudal despotism, and 
feudal wars. Thi.^ sentiment, well comported with that in 
the will of Alfred : " It is just that every Englishman should 
ever r^^main as free as bis own thoughts." 

This third estate (then held so contemptible in England, 
and throughout Europe,) has been the means of forming that 
great balance of power in the parliament of England, of king, 
lord?, and commons ; these, united to their judiciary system, 
coQstituted a government unknozt'n to former ages, and unri- 
valled in the imp rove me aU of man. This government formed 
the basis of those free goverameats which our fathers plan- 
ted, and which their sons have perfected in theu'^'st/om of our 
federal syatem. 

As soon as Edward had replenished his treasury, and re- 
cruited his army, he made war upon king Baliol, entered 
.Scotland, took him prisoner, carried him to England, and 



EJSGLAND AN"D SCOTLAND. J39 

confined him in the tower ; destroyed the archives of Scot- 
hind, and exercised the sovereignty, 1290. 

Two years after, Edward saffered Baliol to depart to 
France, where he died, and EdfPard followed with a view to 
recover the province of Guienae, then seized by Phiiip IV, 
styled the Fair. To effect this, money and allies were ne- 
cessary : to obtain the first, he had recourse to his parlia- 
ment with success ; he demanded of the clergy a fifth of all 
their moveables ; this they refused, and plead the bull of the 
pope. Edward granted theii* plea, and at once placed them 
in a state of ostlawry, by interdicting all their claims in the 
courts of justice, and leavin-gthem exposed to the ri5;ors of 
the law. They were soon harassed with insult, indignity, and 
pillage, withouL redress, and their spirit was broken ; here 
was no plea for persecution ; they yielded their supplies to 
the support of the crown, and were restored to the protec- 
tion of the laws. 

The ambition of Edward, led him to push this money ex- 
action too far : the barons, the clergy, and the people resist- 
ed ; Edward yielded — added one more article t'j the liber- 
ties of magna charta, and settled the tranquillity of England. 
Philip, alarmed for the safety of his kingdom, restored Gui- 
enne to Edward, and preserved bis popularity. 

During these preparations against France, and whilst Ed- 
ward was in Flanders, an insurrection broke out in Scotland, 
headed by one William Wallase, a desperate adv^enturer, on 
whom nature had bestowed <ill the great properties of a for-, 
midable leader in arms. His successes over earl Warren, 
(whom Edward had left to finish the war with Baliol) had ac- 
quired him the conlidence of his countrymen ; the nation was 
inarms ; expelled the English out of Scotland, entered the 
north of England, laid waste the country, and gave it up to 
plunder. 

Fired with indignation at this outrage, Edward returned 
into England, assembled an army of one hnndred thousand 
men, and entered Scotland in triumph. Wallace, (now be- 
come the enry of the nobles,) resigned his command, aiid left 
the insurgents in the hands of the nobles ; Edward attacked 
their camp, routed and dispersed their army, and broke the 
rebellion ; but did not subdue it. Flying parties fled to the 
mountains, and carried on predatory war, and maintained 
their strngirle for liberty, with some success. Wallace was 
betrayed to Edward, sent into England, condemned and ex- 
ecuted as a rebel. 



Ht^ -^ INGLAKD ANh SCOTLANO. 

This despotic j'.ct. roused agaia tl-e spirit of Scotland ; the 
Scots were indignant at the execution o'm • i ;. -ho had by' 
his valor won their hearts, and who hii l-.Vo. ^^worn fealty. 
or allegiance to any prince. They tiesv to .uins. At the 
same tinriC, Robert Biiice, son of Robert trie c Hiipetitor of 
Baliol, who was then m England, flew to the sopport of his 
country, assembled the nobles, and declared his purpose to 
live or die iree at ti:eir head. This was univer^aliy approv- 
ed, exce|.t by one Cummin, who made his objections, and 
retired : Bruce followed, and with liis sword sealed his op- 
position, 'i'he die wa.^ now cast. Robert repaired to Scone, 
was crowsied king of Scotland, and the nation were in arms. 
Edward was ready ; an army soon entered Scoi.land ; the 
parties engaged ; tiie conflict was desperate ■. Robert was 
defeated, and fled to the w^estern isles of Scotland. Edward 
advanced inio Scotland with a powerful army, to complete 
the conquesf, sickened and died ; and with his last breath 
enjoined' it upon his successor, to prosecute the war. 

Edward revived the Saxon laws, liberties, and judicial tri- 
bunals of Alfred ; made great improvements, and reduced 
the wliole to one great system of English liberty. Edward 
II. (tbeixlhe first English prince of Wdles,) succeeded to the 
thro:,.-, in 1307. 

Her-^. opens a field which fully shews the contrast in the 
characters of men, and fully proves how much the strength, 
and happine^.s of a kingdom depends upon the character of 
trje king. All men w'ere prepared to see young Edward put 
himself at the .head of that army which his father had left 
hi in, and in the absence of Robert, strike the fatal blow to the 
liberties of Scotland. But what must be their astonishment, 
when they saw him march back into England, disband this 
formidable force, give himself up to the society of that worth- 
less favorite his father had banished, and leave king Robert 
to retarn to his throne, acd establish the liberties of Scotland. 
Enraged at this bareness in their prince, the nobility flew 
to aroxs, compelled Edward to dismiss his favorite, and hunt- 
ed him to his execution. 

Robert now invaded England in his turn. This roused up 
Edward ; he assembled an army of nearly one hundred thou- 
sand men ; entered Scotland, determined to decide the war 
at a blow. Robert met him with thirty thousand men and 
gave him battle. The champions advanced at the head of 
their troops ; Robert engaged with Henry de Bohun at the 



BEATH OF EDWARD II. 141 

head of the English cavalry, and with his battle axe cleft his 
head to his chin. The English, like the Phili^tir^es of old, 
fled ; the Scots pursued ; Robert by a stratagem threw them 
into confusion ; the carnage was gre'H ; and Edward narrow- 
ly escaped, by taking refuge in Dunbar castle, irom thence 
he sailed into England. Robert pursued, entered England, 
ravaged the northern counties, and filled the kingdom with 
the terror of his arms. 

,' Robert sent an army under his brother to subdue Ireland, 
and an insurrection at the same time broke out in Wales. 
Edward, sensible of his own weakness, raised the earl of Lan- 
caster to the head of the council, and consented to be gov- 
erned by a minister. This excited jealousies and intrigues, 
and threw the councils of the- nation into disorder. 

Here originated that system of ministerial government, 
vj^hich has since proved so important to the English crown. 
Edward, by his unguarded attachment to his favorite Spen- 
cer, threw the nation into a civil war, which compelled the 
king to banish his favorite, and insult the queen. 

This roused Edward from his torpor ; he assembled his 
forces ; took vengeance on Laocaster who headed the fac- 
tion ; executed, imprisoned, and drove into banishment all the 
others ; confiscated their estates ; concluded a truce with 
Scotland for thirteen years, and recalled Spencer. This in- 
censed his queen ; she retired to her brother, of France, 
Charles tbe fliir ; here she fell in with that Robert Mortimer, 
who had escaped from the tower, when under sentence for 
high treason ; and with the intrigues of Mortimer, and sev- 
eral fugitive English barons, they plotted the ruin of Edward. 

The queen by a public declaration disclosed her resent- 
ment agafnst Spencer. The nobility supported her : she 
landed in England ; Edward fled into Wales- for safety, and 
the favorite Spencer and his father were both sacrificed to 
popular rage. The queen summoned a parliament ; Edward 
was deposed ; the young prince, then fourteen years of age, 
placed upon the throne, and the queen appointed regent. 

Here stands a catalogue of crimes, too black to be record- 
ed. But what shall we say, when we read that Edffard soon 
fell a sacrifice, and expired under the most barbarous, and 
horrid murder, 1327. These scenes would add one more 
shade to the crimes of the fifth century. 



142 HOUSE OF AUSTRIA, bWITZERLANS. 

CHAP. XV. 

Germany and Switzerland — Italy— -France — Knights Tem- 
plars. 

During tbese operations in England, Rodolph of Haps- 
burg, who had obtained the imperial tferone, (ai'ter the long 
interregnum,) devoted himself to quiet the feuds, excesses, 
and abuses which bad sprung up in Germany ; acquitted him- 
self successfully, and became very popular. He suffered 
some disappointment in the loss of his son Kodolph, duke of 
Suabia, and in failing in bis atiempt to procure the crown of 
the Romans, for his eldest son Albert, whom he had made 
duke of Austria, and caused this duchy to be annexed to the 
electoral college. This gave rise to the house of Austria, in 
1282. 

Although Rodolph's crown had been confirmed by Grego- 
ry X. Italy had aot yielded to his eiUhority; and when he 
could not procure for his son Albert, the Romuid crown, he 
endeavoured to console himself with aggrandizing the duchy 
of Austria, and died in 1291 ; having done every thing in his 
power tor his country. 

Adolphus of Nassau, was raised to the imperial throne, 
1292. His injustice soon rendered him unpopular, and the 
archbishop of Mentz, at the headijf a faction, deposed him, 
and raised Albert, duke of Austria, to the throne. 

Albert drevv his sword to maintain his claim ; and Adol- 
phus ndvancc'd at the head of his army, to dispute the prize. 
They met near Rosendel, and an action erisued. Adolphus, 
in the heat of the action, espied his rival, pul sj nrs to his 
horsx'^, advanced to the combat, and exclaimed : ' iM^re you 
shrill resign me the empire, and your life." " Both," replied 
Albert, '• are in the hands of God ;" and struck his competi- 
tor dead at his fe^t. Albert was crowned atAix la-Chapelle, 
1298. 

Three German princes had refused to Albert th«ir votes : 
these soon became the tools of pope Boniface Vlil. ; but 
were brought to submit upon political motives, and Boniface 
obtained a concession from Albert, that" emperors and kings 
derive their regal power from the pope." 

During this reign, the oppressions of Albert through his 
governors, roused the spirit of the provinces of Switzerland ; 
and when Grisler the govertor, compelled William Tell to 



SICILIAN VESPERS. 143 

strike off with his bow and arrow, nn apple placed upon the 
head of his sorij to save his own life ; the nation were alive 
at the outrage. Tell struck off the apple, and at the same 
time discovered another arrow under his cloke, which he de- 
clared was designed for the heart of Grisler, had he killed , 
his son. 

Grisler in a rage, doomed him to perpetual imprisonment. 
The Swiss rose, seized all the Austrian governors, conduct- 
ed them safely to the frontier, made them swear never to 
serve against Switzerland, dismissed them, and delivered 
their country. 

Albert attempted to march to the S'ubjection of Switzer- 
land, but his career was arrested by his nephew John, who 
stabbed him on his way, in presence of all his court. The 
enterprize was abandoned, and the liberties of Switzerland 
were preserved. 

In the year 1309 Henry count of Luxemberg v.'as elected 
emperor, crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle, and immediately turn- 
ed his attention to Italy, which had been neglected during the 
long feuds and interregnums of Germany. Here the factions 
of the Guelphs and Ghibelines raged without mercy, and 
rendered both parties the subjects of indiscriminate butchery, 
without feeling, or remorse. 

The old quarrels of emperors and popes, were now lost in 
the strife of factions, and the pope, Clement V. no longer 
safe in Rome, took shelter in France several years. 

Sicily was relieved from the French, by the massacre of 
the Sicilian Vespers, and the house of A rr;xgon seized on the 
Island. The same spirit of intrigue, faction, cruelty and 
blood, raged throughout Italy, and rendered it an acefdaina. 

In the midi^t of these scenes of wretchedness and distress, 
Henry appeared, and caused himself to be crowned king of 
Lombardy, by a new iron crown, in place of the old one 
which they had removed. Henry marched through the 
cities of Italy, received their submission, and repaired to 
Rome, where he humbled the factions with his sword, and 
was crov/ned by the cardinals. 

Henry proceeded to appoint a Roman governor and levy 
a tax upon the cities of Italy, " when he was taken off by 
poison, given him in the consecrated wine of the sacrament, 
by a Dominican fViar, 1313." At this time the knights of 
the teutonic order seized on Dantzic, and purchased Pome- 
rania of the duke of Brandenburg, 



144 

* Frauce, at this lime under Philip III. had been inTolred in 
a war to secure the crown of Sicily for his uncle Charles, 
who had been expelled by means of the massacre of the Si- 
cilian Vespers, 1282. This event took place in consequence 
of an insult offered to a young Sicilian bride, as she passed 
with her nuptial train near the city of Palermo. The popu- 
lace, who hated the French, resented the affront ; and a 
young Sicilian, fired with indignation, killed the offender. 

The people assembled, a conflict began, butchery ensued ; 
the populace enraged, took vengeance on the offenders, cry- 
ing " kill the French, kill the French." A general butchery 
followed, without regard to either, age or sex, until every 
French person was exterminated in Palermo. The rage then 
became general, until the massacre extended throughout the 
island , even the sanctuaries of religion were violated, and 
the prieste butchered all the French penitents. 

Philip HI. attempted by his intrigues with the pope, to se- 
cure the crown of Sicily to his own family, amidst these con- 
flicting passions ; but failed, and the adventure terminated in 
the ruin of the parties, the death of Charles the ex-king of 
Sicily, the ruin of his fleet, the capture of his son, and the 
death of Philip 111. 

Philip IV. (his sod) styled the fair, succeeded to the throne. ^ 
He began to forsB the government of France upon the English 
plan under Edward I. with the three estates which forms an" 
important epoch in the annals of France. Philip composed 
the feuds of his kingdom, by the mediation of Edward I. of 
England, and paid him, by supporting the Scotch rebellion 
with open war. 

Philip adopted the Vneasures of Edward I. by exacting- 
supplies from the rich clergy for (be support of the crown. 
Boniface VIII. put his veto upon ecclesiastical revenues be- 
ing applied to the support of princes, by his special bull ; 
and the parties were at issue. 

Boniface sent the bishop of Pamiers to Paris, to denounce 
Philip, and interdict his kingdom, if he did not desist from 
his purpose. Philip delivered him over to ecclesiastical 
censure and confinement, under the power of the archbishop 
of Narboune. 

Boniface came out with a bull, declaring, " that the vicar 
of Christ, is vested with full authority over the kings and 
kingdoms of the earth." The clergy of France were sum- 
moned to Rome. Philip ordered the bull to be burnt, and 



KNIftHTS TEMPLARS. Mi 

the clergy not to leave the kingdom. Many, however, 
obeyed the mandate of the pope, and Philip confi^ciited their 
estates. He then summoned his parliament, (which for the 
first time, admitted the representatives of cities,) they set the 
bull at defiance, and supported the king. 

Here was the origin of the assembly of the states' general 
ia France ; here Philip found himself supported by the na- 
tion, and set the pope at defiance. The atfair ended in the 
disgrace and death of Boniface, who was succeeded by Ben- 
edict [X. He attempted, by mild and equitable measures, 
to heal the divisions of the church, and was poisoned for the 
good he attempted to do. Clement V. succeeded to the chair. 
He was a Frenchman, and took up his residence in France. 

Under the sanction of this pope, Philip undertook to abol- 
ish the order of knights templars in France. This body of 
men were associated into a religious society of kniglsthood, 
in the time of the crusades, amongst the most dist.ingaished 
champions of the cross. At this time they were numerous 
in France ; rich, and passed their lives in ease, and elegant 
amusements, as gentlemen of France. 

Philip denounced the order, doomed them all to imprison- 
ment, throughout France, in one day, and published the most 
daring accusations against them. I'o support these accusa- 
tions, he put them to the rack, to extort confessions of their 
guilt. Some denied the charges, and died with firmness ; 
some, through weakness, confessed whatever they were 
charged with ; others declared the absurdity of such proceed- 
ings, and plead the religion, zeal, and gallant exploits which 
had 60 long rendered their order illustrious ; but all without 
effect. They were rich : lived at ease ; and their des^truc- 
tion was sealed. This vindictive persecution wa? pursued, 
until the rack, the scafibid, and the flames, extciminatedthe 
templars in France ; and Philip confiscated their estates. 

Clement V. yet in France, assembled a couLcil at Vienna, 
abolished the whole order, and thus by the plenitude of his 
power confirmed their ruin, in 1312. This bull of the ;iOpe 
Jed to the same violence against the templars tbroughont Eu- 
Tope. They were thrown into prison, sacrificed and plun- 
dered, and thair estates confiscated. Pliijip «onn snok uculer 
the weight.of such accumulated euilr and distress ; »Hncrnish- 
ed with a consumption, and died in the forty-seventh year of 
his age, A. D. 1314. 

Philip was succeeded by his son Lewis X. AvaricQ and 

IS 



146 E»WAR» III. 

cruelty, with some ambition, were the characteristics of his 
reign, and he died in 1316. 



CHAP. XVI. 



France and the Salic Law — England and Scotland — England 
and France — Battle of Cressy, 

The momentary appearance of a female succession, in an 
infant daughter of Lewis X, was sufficient to call the attention 
of the French nation to the Salic law, which excluded all fe- 
males from the throne of France. This supposed law, was 
found to exist only in usage, or custom, borrowed from the 
Salian tribe, who dwelt in Gaul when Pharamond came over 
the Rhine with his Franks. This usage, amongst those 
barbarians, so essential to their safety and peace in that 
barbarous age, was adopted into the government of the 
Franks, and continues to be the usage of France. In defect 
of male issue, Philip de Valois, cousin of Lewis, succeeded to 
the throne, 1328. 

This dispute in France, opened a field for the talents of 
Edward HI, king of England. When Edward had caused 
the persecutions which were carried on by earl Mortimer, 
and the queen mother, against the earl of Kent, and the earl 
of Lancaster, to be suppressed, by giving up Mortimer to the 
vengeance of an incensed nobility, and the queen to the judg- 
ment of hig parliament ; he gave his attention to those abus- 
es which had arisen out of the murder of his father. He is- 
sued orders to the judges, to cause the laws to be executed 
upon all criminals, of whatever class, or distinction. He 
soon suppressed the murderous depiedations of the barons ; 
and the ministers of justice, by their vigilance and rigid exe- 
cution of the laws, restored the public order and tranquillity. 

Under this prosperous state of affairs, Edward turned his 
atteotic i to the rebellious Scots. The renowned Bruce, 
who had recovered the liberties of his country by his treaty 
with earl Mortimer, as regent, was now dead, and the crown 
was in the hands of Randolph, earl of Murray, as a regent 
for David, the son of Bruce, then a minor. 

Edward Baliol, (son of John Baliol, the former competitor 
©f ^e former Robert Bruce,) was now imm«red in a French 



AFFAIRS OF SCOTLAND. 14^ 

prison by a suit of lord Beaumont, a baron of England, upo» 
a contested claim in Scotland. Many other English noble- 
men were in the same condition with Baliol. 

These all made application to Edward III. to assist them 
in the recovery of their liberties and estates. Edward en- 
couraged, what he considered unwise openly to avow ; Bali- 
ol was released from confinement, together with the other 
English nobles, revived his claims on the crown of Scotland, 
assembled a force of about three thousand men, and with his 
adherents, landed in Scotland. Bruce, the victorious, was 
gone ; the earl of Murray was gone ; and lord Douglas wae 
on a crusade in Spain against the Moor?. 

Baliol availed himself of this state of affairs, landed his par- 
ty, attacked the earl of Mar, (who was ready to receive him, 
with forty thousand men ;) routed, and put to flight bis army 
with great slaughter ; followed his victory into the heart of 
Scotland, took Perth, and arrived at Scone, where he was 
crowned ; thus Scotland was subdued with an army of three 
thousand men. 

The good fortune of king Baliol caused his ruin ; he for 
some unwise purpose dismissed his English followers, and in 
this weak situation Lord Douglas surprised him by a sudden 
attack, routed and dispersed his army, slew his brother, and 
pursued him into England a fugitive in distress. 

Edward could no longer conceal what it now became his 
interest to support ; he yielded to tlie overtures of king Bali- 
ol, raised an army, and entered Scotland {o restore! the king. 
The two armies met at Haledown-Hill, a desperate action 
was fought, thirty-one thousand Scots were skin, the nobility 
were all destroyed or taken, a parliament was assv^mbled, 
Baliol restored to the throne, the superiority again acknowl- 
edged, and Edward received the fealty of Scotland, in 1334. 
In two years the Scots rebelled, expelled BaiioK recovered 
their liberties, set Edward and his army at deliance, and, the 
intrigues of France supported their claim*. 

This interference of France kindled a resentment in the. 
breast of Edward, and he resolved to remove this opposition 
by putting in his claiiTi to the contested crown of France. 
During this paper controversy of cliiims. Robert de Artois.. 
brother-in-law to Philip VI. a valiant Prince, fled from the 
persecutions of Philip, and took refug** at the court of Edward. 

The address of Bobert to Edward was, " 1 made Philip 
^^I. king of France, and with your assistance I will depoge 



;-8 KNGLAND ^\» FRANCE. 

him for his ingratitude." Thi? language gratified the resent- 
icent of Edward, and the field of controversy was now open, 
that field of controversy, which kindled a train of passions 
that have npver been extinguished, and which can never be 
extinguished, so long as the indej)cndence of the two nations 
shall continue to exist. 

The predecessors of Philip VI. had excited a jealousy in 
the low countries (or Flanders) towards the Frencii, and the 
ambition of Philip the fair had fanned the flame — here Ed- 
ward turned his attention for alliance and support in the war 
he contemplated against France. 

His tirst object was to find a demagogue whom he could 
attach to his interest, and who could unite the Flemings in 
his cause ; such a man he i>oon found in James D'Arteville, 
a brewer of Ghent. This was the most popular and influen- 
tial man in Flanders, who was ready to throw all his influence 
into the scale of the king of England. 

Edward who had secured the support of his falher-in-law 
the duke of Hainault, the duke of Brabant, the archbishop of 
Cologne, the .duke of Guelder, the marquis of Juliers, and 
the count of Namur, had opened the way for his future ope- 
rations, and was ready to put all his vast plans and prepara- 
tions into operr^tion. 

Edward embarked a body of troops, repaired to Flanders, 
set up his claim to the crown of France, and the allies witTi 
D'Arteville, and his Flemings were ready to support his 
claims. Philip was prepared, and the campaign in Flanders 
was opened ; long and intriguing conferences wasted the 
season, the armies remained inactive, and little was done. 
Edward, distressed for money and supplies, abandoned his 
enterprise, and returned to England. 

The next season opened the theatre of war upon the wa- 
fer. Edward, with a powerful fleet, obtained a signal victory 
over the French fleet, took and destroyed one hundred and 
thirty ships, and killed thirty thousand men. Both admirals 
fell in the engagement. 

Flushed with the splendor of this victory, Edward again 
assembled an army, embarked fur Flanders, joined the allies 
as before, and began his operations by inv.t ling the frontiers 
of France at the head of more than one hundred thousand 
men. 

Philip acted the Fabins, declined the combat, and left Ed- 
ward the emploj^ment of wasting the campaign in fruitier? 



COUNTESS OF MOU5TF0RT. !49 

sieges. Edward, tired of this warfare, and impatient to end 
a war he waa in no situation to proU^nz, f->r the want of '.non- 
ey, «eot a challenge to Philip to decide their claims by siagle 
combat. Phihp rephed '* It does not beccai2 a vassnl to 
challenge his liege lord,'' (referring to Edward's homage for 
Guienne io France.) This was concIo=ive. ' ■ ■ ^^■•'-^ '»'^- 
concluded for one year in 1340. 

This truce opened the way for a new scene v- m ;i ,, , ,-i^ 
into view the splendid talents of the countess of Mountfort. 
The count of Mountfort seized on the duchy of Brittany, 
in exclusion to Charles of Blois, brother of Philip V'l. re- 
paired to the court of Edward, and negociated an alliance, by 
offering to do homage to Edward for Brittany, as king of 
France. The terms were soon settled, and the parties pre- 
pared for action ; the count was taken prisoner soon after, 
arid the countess stepped in and assumed the defence. Fired 
with indignation for the wrongs of her husband, she viewed 
in person all the fortresses of defence, supplied and animat- 
ed the garrisons, and waited at Hennebone the succors of 
Edward. 

Charles entered the duchy, laid eiege to Hennebone, de- 
termined to secure the duchess before the succors of Edward 
could arrive ; the prize was the duchy of Brittany and the 
countess of Mountfort, and the efforts of the siege were con- 
ducted accordingly : attacks were frequent, sharp, and even 
desperate and bloody : the defence was rendered desperate 
by the all-commanding presence of the countess, a breach 
was made in the walls, the conflict became still mc-re despe- 
rate, the garrison were weakened by their repeated conflicts 
and losses, despair began to seize on the citizens, and the 
countess ascended her tQwer once more, to take a view of 
that sea, from which she had so often looked in vain for 
Edward her deliverer. 

She discovered the fleet ; Edward had sent Sir Walter 
Manny to the rehef of the countess, his fleet entered the har- 
bor, landed his troop?, joined the besieged, made a desperate 
sally, drove Charles from his camp, and saved the town. 

The war now raged with thresh violence ; Charfes redou- 
bled his efforts ; Sir Walter did valiantly, with inferior num- 
bers ; Edward sent over a reinforcement ufid«r Robert of 
Artois ; Robert was slain, Edward then went in person, a 
truce was concluded for three years, and the countess he' ' 
quiet possession of Brittany, 1343. 

IS * 



J5© battle op CRESSYi 

The parliament of England now becariie useful to the 
Grown ; they entered with spirit into the war, granted liber- 
al supplies, and by their zeal, Edward invaded Normandy 
the next year, to recover the possessions of his ancestors. 
This enterprize was successful in Normandy, and led Ed- 
ward to the gates of Paris ; but Philip, at the head of one 
hundred tbouiand men, compelled Edward to retire towards 
Flanders. His situation now became critical : the river 
Sonsme obstructed his march, and covered the position of 
De Fay, at the head of a powerful army, who had destroyed 
ihe bridges. 

Pressed on his front and rear by two such powerful ar- 
jDaies, in the heart of France, Edward saw that safety de- 
pended on immediate action. He drew his sword at the 
head of his army, plunged into the river, like the hero of 
Macedon, at the Grannicus, attacked De Fay, drove him 
from his position, and recovered the plains, at the critical 
moment when Philip came up with his whole army. Ed- 
ward was delivered ! 

That tid»^, which at its ebb had opened a passage for the 
English army, now by its return, obstructed the French. So 
critical are the operations of war. Edward, resolved to 
avail himself of his Successes, and turn the ardor of his troops 
to his best advantage, took a position near Cressy, and wait- 
ed the approach of Philip. 

Philip advanced ; the onset commenced at 3 o'clock — the 
conflict was general, desperate and bloody. Edward was 
victorious — Philip fled — Edward pursued, and ihe carnage 
was terrible : forty thousand French strewed the plains of 
Cressy, and night only, saved Philip and bis army from 
total ruin, August 26th, J 346. The young prince Edward, 
distinguished himself in the action, and shewed that he was 
worthy of his sire. Here was ihe first trial of cannon in the 
tvars of Europe : Edward supported his line by four pieces of 
iron cannon. Edward left Philip to pursue his flight, drew 
effhis army, and invested Calais. 



CHAP. XVII. 

England and Scotland — general plague— invasion of France 
hy Edward the black Prince— hatih ofPoictiers-^civil war^. 



^VEEN PHILIPPA. 151* 

of France — Edward the Black Prince renews the war with 
France — peace and conditions* 

Philip VI. by his intrigues, excited a war in Scotland, ia 
©rder to weaken Edward, and cramp his ambitious plans 
against France. For this purpose, David Bruce, (deecend- 
ant of the grnat Robert,) who had been seated upon the 
throne of Scotland, assembled an army, and entered England 
victorious. 

England was now doubly armed — Edward was in France, 
contending for the crown of that kingdom, which perpetuates 
the custom of the Saliane tribe, and deems woman unfit to 
rule. Edward's queen, Fhilippa, was in England, to support 
the royal power, and secure the peace of the realm. 

Fired with ju^t indignation at the daring invasion of Daf- 
vid, Philippa put herself at the head of twelve thousand men, 
and marched out to meet the marauder — an action commen- 
ced ; the Scots were overthrown with great slaughter ; fif- 
teen thousand fell in the action, with their principal chiefs ; 
David, and his nobility were taken ; England was delivered, 
and Fhilippa triumphant Oot. 17, 1346. 

Thrs signal exploit, at this critical moment, was a severe 
philippic upon the Salic law, and might have taught France 
that woman could rule. Philippa secured her royal prison- 
er, set sail for France, and joined Edward before Calais. 
The siege was pushed with vigor, and in twelve months, 
Calais added one more trophy to the successes of Edward. 

Pope Clement VI. sent his legate as a mediator between 
the parties : a truce was settled, Calais was confirmed to 
Edward, and he returned to England, 1348. 

The successes of Edward, and queen Philippa, kindled a 
spirit of ambition and emulation, in the court of Edward, un- 
known before in England. Chivalry, and gallantry, temper- 
ed with English manner.*?, gave a lustre to the English, unri- 
valled, if not unknown, in Europe : and amidst the festivity 
of these scenes, an incident, innocent and trifling in itself, 
gave rise to this memorable motto. " Honi suit qui mal y 
pense :" (evil to him that evil thinks,) This motto, with its 
incident, occasioned the order of the garter, by Edward, 1350. 

Amidst the excesses of the passions of this age, God visit- 
ed the e-^rth with lis jadgraents, by pestilence, as well as by 
the sword. A general plague prevailed throughout Asia, 
Africa, and Europe, and swept off about one third of the 



152 ' G^l^'ERAL PLAGUE. 

whole family of man. Wars were suspended : dissipation 
was changed into gloom ; and the whole earth became one 
great hospital of the sick, the dying, and the dead. Fifty 
thousand fell a sacrifice in the single city of London. 

Philip the Vl. died, and left his throne to his son John III. 
1350. During this reign, a civil war raged in France, head- 
ed by Charles, king of Navarre, surnamed the ba(l. This 
appellation was the more forcibly true, when confrasted with 
the good qualities of John. Cliaries sprang from Lewis X. 
by the mother's side, and laid claim to the crown of France. 
He made court to Edward III. ; excited Charles, the eldest 
son of John II. to favour his plans ; and filled France with 
his intrigues. In the midst of these scenes, Charles repented 
of his folly, and did penance, by delivering the king of Na- 
varre, and other nobles of his party into the hands of his 
father John,,wtio delivered them up to execution and im- 
prisoned the king of Navarre. 

In the midst of these scenes, the truce with Edward at Ca^ 
lais was closed, and. war was renewed. The prince of 
Wales, who had signalized himself at the battle of Cressy, 
took the field, and penetrated, like his father, into the^heart 
of France, at the head of only twelve thousand man. John 
assembled sixty thousand, took the field, and met the prince 
near Poictiers ; Edward, with his little army were immedi- 
ately surrounded, and all hope of escape cut off. 

John, at the head of his superior army, was too impatient 
to wait the regular fall of the prince, by a want of suppHes ; 
but drew his sword, and advanced to the conflict, determined 
to reduce him at a blow. Edn^ard was ready— the crisis was 
desperate, and the conflict terrible ; the English received the 
shock with firmness ; the French were charged in their 
turn, broken, routed, and fled ; the carnage was great, and 
John a prisoner. Edward received the captive king with 
great dignity and complacency, and gave God the praise, 
Sept. 19, 1356. 

Edward styled the black prince, (from the colour of his 
armor,) concluded a truce of two years, conducted the cap- 
tive king to Eagland, where iie co^jtinued ^o discover the 
same greatness (j^soul, in his amiable and dignified deport- 
ment to kiDg John, and rendered his residence in Enghnd 
such as became a king. Divid, king of Scotland, was at 
this time the companion of the king of France in captivity in 
Sngland. 



CIVIL WAR IN FRANCE. 153 

The affairs of France were now become desperate. 
Charles, the dauphin prince, (so styled from the province of 
Daiiphiny's being annexed to the crown, like the principality 
of Wales'in Ensjland,) assumed the reins of government in 
the absence of his father, and to provide supplies for the 
support of the crown, had recourse to'his states' general, 
sfter the manner of Edward III. of England ; but not with the 
same success. They met him ; but with demands to redresi 
their own grievances, and to deliver the king of Navarie, 
(Charles the bad.) 

Marcel, provost of Paris, espoused the cause of the assem- 
bly, put himself at the head of the populace of Paris, mur- 
dered all the great mareschals of France, in the presence of 
the dauphin, threatened all the court, and held the dauphin 
under their control ; Charles withdrew, and they levied 
©pen war. 

All France took the alarm, flew to arms, and assumed the 
government ; the days of the fifth century were renewed ; 
anarchy, rapine, desolation, and carnage, ravaged Fiaoce. 
The war of peasants against the Nobles, or more extensive- 
ly, the poor agaiast the rich, filled France with every des- 
cription of cruelty, and unhallowed barbarity ; neither age 
nor sex were spared ; the castles of the nobles were pillaged, 
sacked, and destroyed, their proprietors hunted like wild 
beasts of the forest, and France filled with excesses too 
shocking to relate. 

The tocsin of the late revointion, marked tben, the title 
page of this first revolutionary volume : " Peace nith the 
cottage, war with the palace." l^i'me thousand of these un- 
hallowed sons of rapine, burst into the city of Meaux, \v!iere 
the princess of the Dauphin, the duchess of Orleans, and more 
than three hundred other ladies of- distinction had taken 
shelter. Chivalry artoed with the protecting sword of the 
illustrious Count de Foix, the Captal de Buche, with sixty 
other knights, flew to their relief, and by their desperate 
valor drove off the boors, protected ds^fenct^less innocence, 
and added one more illustrious example, that chivalry was 
the protector of chastity and virtue. 

During these scenes, Ch/irlas, king of Navarre, made his 
escape, set up his cliiim to the crown of France, and became 
the head of the banditti. The death of Marcel distracted the 
mob of Paris, and they bega') to fe*'l tt;*' prfssur^ of distress, 
and turned their attentioa to the dauphin t« restore tranquil- 
lity. 



i54 FRANCE AND ENGLANB. 

With a change in the capital, it became general ; and or- 
der was restored to France, as far as the situation of the na- 
tion under their distresses, could be capable of enjoying or- 
der ; a way was at least prepared for the restoration of so de- 
sirable an event. The truce of the Black Prince was now 
ended, and he again entered France in the midst of that calm, 
which had just opened the eyes of the nation to a sense of 
those scenes of rapine and desolation which had filled all the 
kingdom with wretchedness. 

He commenced his operations by ravaging and pillaging 
their country, and levying contributions upon their towns, 
until desolation itself, compelled him to conclude a peace, 
stipulate for the ransom of John II. at three million crowns in 
gold, renounce all claims upon Normandy, and the othir 
provinces, claimed or owned by England, in exchange for the 
provinces of Poictou, Xaintonge, le Angenois, and six oth- 
ers ; together with Guienne and Calais, which were to be- 
long to the crown of England ; and France renounced all 
feudal claims of homage, &c. King John returned to France ; 
bat when insurmountable obstacles obstructed the execution 
of this treaty, he broke through his opposing court, repaired 
to London to negociate for the removal of difficulties, took 
up his old lodgings, sickened and died in 1364. 



CHAP. XVIII. 



Farticular remarks — ciffairs of France and Spain — Black 
Prince renews the war 'with France — battle of the champions 
-Germany and Italy. 

In the events of the last chapter, we have seen what could 
be done by a king of England, like Edward III. \\ho knew 
how to improve to advantage, the powers which his crown 
durived from the union of the three estates in his govern- 
ment, and what force a well balanced liberty could give to 
the energies of his sword. We have seen an example of 
what John II. king of France, or rather the dauphin, in his ab- 
sence, could not do, for the want of such a free government j. 
and what the licentiousness of despotism when transferred 
from the throne to the populace did do. Permit me to add, 
ire have in our own times witnessed the second volume of 



AFFAIRS OF SPAIN. Ibo 

the same scenes, arising from the same source, and upon the 
same theatre of action. The choice is left open to the n^orld. 

Charles V succeeded to the throne of his father, at a peri- 
od, perhaps, of all others the most difficult : his resources 
were so exhausted, that he held but the shadow of power ; 
the king of Navarre was yet in arms ; forty thousand English 
adventurers of the sword, had taken possession of the newly 
acquired provinces, and threatened the peace of the kingdom. 

In the midst of this pressing state of things, Peter the I. 
succeeded to the throne of bis father Alphonso XI. king of 
Spain, and was agting over in Spain, a tragedy, much like 
the late tragedy in France, in the reign of John II. Count 
Trastamara, brother of Peter, fled into France for safety and 
succor, and made application to the king. Charles embra- 
ced the favorable moment ; met his request, by a permission 
for count Henry, to enlist those formidable knights of the 
sword, who had formed themselves into bodies, styled com- 
panies, or companions. These readily embraced the offers 
of Henry, entered into his service under one DuGuesclin^ 
and assembled at Avignon : here they demanded of pope 
Innocent VI. (who resided in France during the long feuds 
of Italy,) absolution from that bull he had thundered against 
them, and their horrid barbaritiee ; together with a sum of 
two hundred thousand livres. Innocent hesitated : to pardon 
for money, was orthodox ; but to pardon, and pay money, 
was an alarming innovation — Du Guesclin added ; " My fel- 
lows, I believe, can make a shift to do without your absolu- 
tion ; but this money is absolutely necessary." His holiness 
levied this sum upon the people, and paid the demands of 
Du Guesclin, 

The bandit shrunk from the act, and exclaimed ; ** It is 
not my purpose to oppress the innocent people : the pope 
and cardinals can spare me double the sum from their own 
coffers ; I therefore insist, that this money be restored to the 
owners ; and if I hear that they are defrauded of it, I will re- 
turn over the Pyrenees, and oblige you to make them resti- 
tution." Innocent obeyed, and paid the money. 

The enterprise in Spain proved successful ; Peter was 
driven from his throne, flod into France, and took refuge at 
the court of Edward the black prince, in Guienne. Edward 
espoused his cause, recalled the English troops under Du 
Guesclin, put hiroselfAt the head of thirty thousand men, 
entered Spain, met Henry with an army of one hundred 



w 



156 DEATH OF EDWARD III. 

thousand men upon the banks of the Ebro, near Najara, an 
action cofnrnenced, Edward was victorious — twenty thousand 
French and Spaniards strewed the field of tiie dead j Du 
GuescHn was taken prisoner, and ~a\\ Castile submitted to 
Edward, who restored Peter to his throne, and returned to 
Guienne. 

This successful expedition ruined the prince. Peter re- 
fused to pay according to stipulation ; the debts of Edward 
cramped his affairs, and constrained him to levy upon his 
subjects ; they complained to the king of France ; he cited 
Edward to appear at Paris, and justify his conduct towards 
his vassals. Edward obeyed, not the summons .of Charles, 
but ol his own resentment ; put himself at the head of his 
army, and took the field ; war commenced, and raged ; Ed- 
ward's health declined, and his affairs declined, until he fell a 
sacrifice to his disease, and with his death the possessions of 
England soon returned back to the crown of France, except- 
ing Bordeaux, Bayonne, and Calais, 

At this time, the gallantries of Edward III. had weakened 
his government, and rendered it necessary to confer the 
crown upon his son, the duke of Lancaster. He survived 
his son one year, and died in the sixty-fifth year of his age, 
1377. His name will ever live. 

During these struggles in France, and Spain, and the long, 
and prosperous reign of Edward III. in England, a furious 
civil war raged in Germany, to supply the succession, after 
the interregnum, which followed the death of Henry Vli. 
Frederic, duke of Bavaria, and Lewis, duke of Austria, were 
the competitors in this controversy. In the midst of this 
war, two champions agreed to select fifteen from each party, 
and decide the claims of the competitors by combat. The 
champions met accordingly near Muldorf, the conflict was in 
the presence of both armies, and the rencounter so desperate, 
that every man fell, not one was spared. Boih armies rush- 
ed to the combat ; the conflict was terrible ; Frederic was 
routed, and retired from the field : he soon recovered the 
blow, and enter^ad Bavaria to take vengeance on his rival ; Lew- 
is appeared with a povverf il army, a battle was fougbt near Ve- 
chivis ; Frederic was taken prisoner, his army (hspersed, and 
Lewis bore away the palm, and wore the imperial crown. 

During these struggles in Germany, Austria had made one 
great effort to huDible the Saiss: but the famous battle of 
Morgart defeated the Austrians, and established the liberties 
of Switzerland, 



CDViiGlL ©P FRAKKF^RT. - loi 

Lewis V. maintained a controversy with pope John XXII. 
and marched into Italy, def)03ed John, arid created Nicholas 
V. Upon his return into Germany, John was restored, Nich- 
olas deposed, carried to Avignon with a rope about- his neck, 
constrained to do penance for his temerity, thrown into pri- 
son, and died, in 1330. 

During this controversy, John died, and Benedict XII. was 
raised to the chair ; he renewed or confirmed the bulls of 
John. This, together with a war with the duke of Austria in 
support of his son, the m.argrave of Brandenburg,. found em- 
ployment for this yesr. In the memorable year 1338, the 
princes of the empire, civil and ecclesiastical, assembled at 
Frankfort, with a determination to put a final close to the in- 
fluence of the popes in the councils of Germany^i, and stop 
the effusion of blood in these civil wars. 

They established irrevocably the following constitution : 
" that the plurality of suffrages of the electoral college, con- 
fers the empire, without the consent of the holy see ; that the 
pope has no superiority over the emperor of Germany, nor 
any right to approve or reject his election ; and that to 
maintain the conjtrary is high treason.*^ They also declared 
the elector Pabitine of the Rhine, to be vested with the gov- 
ernment during an interregnum. 

During this time, Benedict XII. died, and was succeeded 
by Clement VI. a native of France, ^ here he then resi<:ed. 
Clement confirm.ed all the bulls of Benedict and John against 
Lewis the V. : but without effect. He then came cut with 
what he considered as his great bull of terror, which was to 
palsy the power of Lewis, and this was the stylej " May the 
wrath of God, of St. Peter and St. Paul crush him in tiiis 
world and the next : may the earth open and swallow him 
up alive ; may his mercy perish, and all the elements he his 
enemies ; may his children fall into the handg of his adversa-"- 
ries, even in the sight cf their father." 

Clement issued a new bull of election ; it failed in part, but 
was the means of electirg Charles IV. margrave of Moravia, 
king of the Romans 1347. 

During these struggles with the }!apacy, Nirhclas Rienzi, ^ 
privj^te citizen of Rome, by his address, *wa? proclaimed tri- 
bune by the people, took f osse?sion of the capilol, and de- 
elated all Italy free ; he, like the Grac hi of old, fell i, sa- 
crifice to his temerity, and wai- mmdfire'^' by (hf patricians. 
Charles IV. on his return to Germaijy, CuUed a new diet at 
14 



)58 DIET AT NUREMBERG. 

N'lremberg;, to fix ih'i imperial elections more definitely, thaa 
was expi-e?«ed by the diet of Frankfoit. This diet framed, 
and published the famous golden bull, which has quieted the 
elections of the empire to this day. The styleofthisbr.il, 
and the riianner in which it was put into operation at the cor- 
onation of Charles IV. are worthy of notice ; but such par- 
ticularss exceed the limits of this work. Charles left the ina- 
perial crown to his son W inceslaus, in 1 378. 



CHAP XIX. 



Jiffairs of England under Richard II. and Henry IV, — Scotland 
— Germany., and the States of. Italy — council of Constance. 

V\c have noticed the successive steps in the government 
of En£;land to recover her liberti^^s, and the good effects they 
have produced : we may now notice the distinction between 
liberty, and licentiousness, mark the contrae-t, Tind learn to 
revere tlmt true system of government which is able to main- 
Vnn and prott^ct x\\(^ true principles of liberty, by the true 
prir.ciples ot justice, equity, and sound policy. 

When Ricnard the II. of England, succeeded to the throne 
of E 'ward III. his minority was supported by the weight of 
character and influence of his three uncles, the dukes of 
Lancaster, York and Gloucester, and the tranquillity of the 
throrie was secured. 

The cotitinental wars of Edward, had exhausted his funds, 
and entailed "'pon Richard, not only poverty, but the neces- 
sity of devising an expedi^tit to replenish his treasury. This 
might have been eff-cied by a resort to his parliament, after 
the manner of E.^ward, but this was overlooked, and he had 
recor^rse to a direct tax of three groats upon the head of each 
p 'r?on, male and female, over sixteen years of age, called 
the poll tax. This thre? the nation into a ferment, raised 
the clamour of inequality and injuftice, set men to weigh 
each other in the balance of equality, then of liberty, and led 
the v;>ssal to say, that if his head was taxed as much as his 
lord's he was as good as his lord. The passions of the nation 
were roused ; and a single incident between a tax-gatherer 
and a young woman, kindled the fire into a flame ; and the 
nation, as one great mob, flew to arms. 



WAT Tyler's mob. 159 

©ne hundred thousand men invested London, under Wat 
Tyler their leader, and demanded a conference with the king, 
who had taken refuge in the tower. A conference was at- 
tempted, hut the riotous multitude rendered this impractica- 
ble ; and they broke into London, gave it up to pillage, and 
murdered rfll the gentlemerr they couhl find. 

The king again attempted a conference, which was effect- 
ed ; and they demanded abolition of slavery, free market 
towns, and a fixed rent on lands, instead of services by ville- 
nage. Those demands would have been instantly granted, 
but Wat Tyler became so insolent with his sword to the lord 
mayor, that he struck him to the ground, where he '.va> slain. 
Great tumults aro-^e, and the mob were about to take instant 
vengeance upon the lord mayor, the king, and all his atten- 
dants. Richard, then sixteen years of age, stepped out in 
presence of the mob, and exclaimed, " I am your king, and 
will become your leader ; follow me into the field, and you 
shall have whatever you want." The mob was hushed, and 
followed t!ie king, he granted their demands, dismissed them 
peaceably, and they repaired to their homes 

Thus, we see, how critical is the state of a nation, when 
balancing between despotism and liberty, how much the 
good of a government depends upon the wisdom of the prince, 
and how feudal vassalage was abolished in England. 

Richard II. was the sport of faction d iring his weak reign ; 
he fell into the hands of the duke of Lancaster, who was 
making ambitious attempts upon the crown, was exposed to 
the insult and scorn of the nation, died, and was succeeded 
by Lancaster, under the title of Henry IV. 1.399. Henry, like 
all other usurpers, laid the foundation of his throne in blood. 
anil paved the way for a religious per§.ecution in England. 

Wirkl^ff, the first English refor.uer, who was educated at 
Oxford, and from his character and learning, had been thought 
worthy the society of Edward, when duke of Lancaster, now 
began to attract attention. 

The pure principles of liberty, which Wickliffdrew from 
the gospel, were deemed by Henry, incompatible with the 
dignity of his crown ; he cherished a bitterness which the 
clergy harboured against Wickliff, and caused a law to be 
passed, which consigned to the flames, all relapsed herelics. 
This, as was intended, opened the way lor the persecutions 
of the faggot ; and William Sauture, a clergyman of London, 
iell the first victim. 



^60 BATTLE OF SHREWSEURV. 

These arbitrary measures, soon involved Heury in wars. 
An insurrection broke oat in Wales, which gave him much 
trouble ; another in Scotland, under Il^rry Percy, styled Hot- 
spur : this war baffled the efforts of Henry through one cam- 
paign, and he returned toEngbmd. The next season he en- 
tered Scotland with about twelve thousand men f the two ar- 
mies were equal— they met near Shrewsbury : here com- 
menced one ot" the most desperate and blood}' actions, for 
the number of combatants, ever witnessed. Henry, and his 
son, prince of Wales, were engasred with desperate valour ; 
Percy, lord Douglas, and other Scottish chiefs, met the con- 
flict with equal bravery. Hotspur fell, and Edward prevail- 
ed ; the carnage was terrible, more than two thousand gen- 
tlemen fell in the conflict, tne rebellion was quelled, and 
peace was restored without furthur sacrifice, in 1403. 

The battle of Glendour quelled the rebellion in Wales, and 
Henry was left to the quiet enjoyment of his crown, 1409. 
This continued four years, when he fell a sacrifice to digtres- 
sing fits, and died in the forty-sixtli year of his age, in 1413. 

Winceslaus, whom we left ufpon the throne of Germany, was 
soon embroiled in a quarrel between popes Urban VI. and 
Cleaientlll. who were contesting their claims to the chair, 
jwith all the violence and bitterness of Italian wars. The em- 
peror as3e«ab!ed a diet at Nuremberg, who resolved to pro- 
tect Urban. The plague which raged in Bohemia, led the 
emperor to repair to Aix-la-Chapelle, where he remained bu- 
ried in debauchery, while the war-of the popes raged in Italy. 

This v/af was heightened by the broils of Joan, ex- queen 
of Naples, (noticed before in the distresses of that Island,) 
who fell a sacrifice to the rage of the parties, and left her claims 
to the crown of Sicily in a labyrinth of controversy, 1393. 

Urban triumphed over Clement., took Rome, and Clement 
retired to France. Urban next seized upon the crown of 
Naples, and usurped the throne. 

At this time, Margaret, queen of Denmark, seized on the 
kingdom o^ Sweden, to relieve ths Swedes from the tyranny 
of king Albert ; annexed Sweden to Denmark, and acquired 
the appellation of the Semirajjis of the north, 1383. During 
these strnggics, Germany fell into disorder unds?r the reign of 
the corrupt Winceslaus, who remained at Aix-la-Chapelle, 
where he caused his cook to be roasted, because he did not 
pl'^.ass him, and was deposed by the diet of Laenstein, and 
Frederic, duke of Brunswick, raised to the throne, Frederic 



toyNCSL OF CONSTANCE. 161 

was murdered, and Robert, count Palatine of the Rhine, na-^ 
elected emperor, 139^. 

Robert attempted to quiet the wars of Italy by force ; but 
the campaign was uusuccesst'ul, and the dp.ke of Milan acq'i'r- 
ed great power in Italy. At this time John Hus9 appeared 
in Bohemia, embraced the principles of Wickliff, alarmed the 
pope, and kindled a fire in the church. Gregory XU. ex- 
communicated Huss, he appealed to the Holy Trinity, and 
claimed the privilege of making his defence before the uni- 
versity of Prague. The church was now thrown into the 
greatest confusion. 

Two popes were at once in power. Gregory XII. assem- 
bled a council i\t Aquilea, and invited several princes : Ben- 
edict XIII. held a council in Catalonia : the cardinals convok- 
ed a third at Pisa, and the emperor assembled a diet at Frank 
fort for th« saaie purpose, and all was division and discord. 

To lay the storm, ^he cardinals deposed both the p#pes, 
and raised Alexander W to the chair ; this added fuel to the 
fire, and the schism raged afresh. Robert, the emperor, died 
during this struggle, and Sigismund was raised to the imperi- 
al throne, 1411. 

Sigismund convoked a general cop.ncil at Constance, un; 
der the sanction of John XXH. who had succeeded pope 
Alexander V. This was the most numerous, splendid, cor- 
rupt council, ever known in Europe. 

The first resolve of the fathers was, that the three popes 
should all resign the chair ; John, who presided, at once com- 
plied with this, (provided that the others should consent,) 
amidst the acclamations of joy in the council; but this was 
of short duration, pope John repented, left the council, de- 
clared it dissolved by his absence, and fled in disguise, 1415 



CHAP. XX. 

Affairs of Germany — of England — of France. 

GoR, in his aliwise providence, suffen^d the papal churcli 
to make a full display of all her iniquities in the corruption.^ 
which produced the famous council of Constance, to operi 
the way for the great events he w is about to unfold for the 
good of his church. The council, after the departure ef 

24 "^ 



162 HOUSE Qt AUSTRIA. 

pope John, proceeded to determine that no other pope should 
be chosen without the consent of the council, and to exclude 
John, Gregory, and Benedict from the chair. 

John and Gregory yielded, and resigned ; but Benedict 
stood out, and the emperor Sigismund made a special jour- 
ney into Spain, attended by twelve deputies from the couq- 
eil, to obtain the influence of Ferdinand', king of Arragon, to 
persuade Benedict to resign : the pope took refuge in the 
eastle of Paniscola, and defeated the embassy. 

Ferdinand ai!;reed with the emperor, by his dep ities, that 
the council should cite Benedict to appear at Constance, and 
., upon his refusal, proceed to choose another pope. During 
the absence of the emperor, the council proceeded to try Je- 
rome of Prague, an associate with John Huss in principles, 
condemned, and burnt him at the stake ! He suffered with 
great firmness. 

Upon the return of the emperor, Benedict was deposed, 
Martin V. elected, and crowned vvith great pomp. The em- 
peror, and the elector of Brandenburg, led a most magnifi- 
cent white horse, on which sat the pope, Martin V. ; kings, 
princes, vvith their ambassadors, and the fathers of the coun- 
cil, graced the procession to the cathedral, where the triple 
crown was placed upon the head of his holiness ; the same 
solemnity graced his return. 

The Hussites gave loose to their enthusiasm against the 
opposition of the church, which had exclud:;d them from 
their coBmunion ; they raised a mob, entered the town- 
house, and murdered all the niagi'strates who had opposed^ 
them. In the midst of these riots, Winceslaus died, and was 
succeeded in Bohemia, by Sigismund the emperor. This re- 
ligious war ra'^ed with great fury in Bohemia to the year 1436, 
when Sigismund laid the storm by a general amnesty, granted 
them the privileges of the sacrament, and they returned to 
their duty in triumph. 4 

Siwismund led these subjectai against the Turks in the year 
1347, wher3 he died, and left the crown of Bohemia and 
Hu.igary to Alhert, duke of Austria, his son in law : this es- 
tablished the house of Austria upon the imperial throne, 1438. 
This union formed a most important epoch in the histo?"y of 
Europe. 

Daring these feuds in Germany and Italy, Charles VI. had 
taken po«:?as3iou of his throne of France, when he soon ft II 
into a state of frenzy j which attendeu him occasionally, and 



BATTLE OF AGINCOURT. 163 

distracted his reign. Nothing worthy of notice appeared in 
France : the kingdom was given up to dinarchy, licentious- 
ness, and dissipation, in which the court took the lead. The 
court of Henry IV. of England, kept pace with the court of 
France, until he died, and left the crown to his son, Henry 
V. 1413. 

The disciples of Wickliff had now become numerous in 
England, uftderthe denomination of Lollards, and were sup- 
pertedby Sir John Oldcastle, and lord Cobham, noblemen of 
distinction. The archbishop of Canterbury, alarmed for the 
safety of the church, obtained the king's permission to sup- 
press the sect of the Lollards', by an attack upon lord Cobham. 
Henry complied ; the attack commenced, and the persecu- 
tion raged until Cobham was executed, and the Lollards sup- 
pressed. Henry then resolved to take advantage of the dis- 
tracted state of France a.-sembied an army of thirty-six thou- 
sand men, and lauded at Harflenr in France, dismissed his 
transports, and trusted to the valbr of his sword. 

Henry was met by a powerful French army of forty thou- 
sand men, which checked his progress and compelled him to 
retire towards Calais. In this retreat, he had occasion to - 
pa«s the river Somme, unrier circumstances very similar to 
the passage of Ed.vard HI. The French, here, took' post in 
his rear, upon the plains of Agincourt, and checked his move- 
ments : a battle was the only alternative. Henry saw his 
army reduced to halftheir numbers, by fatigues, skirmishing, 
sickness and hunger, now in the presence of a French army 
of four times tr^eir number, headed by the dauphin, and the 
best blood of the nation, full fed, and in high spirits. Henry 
consoled himj^elfwith the battles of Cressy and Foictiers, (so 
famous in English history,) to^k the same wise measures in 
posting his army, and awaited the attack. The French, im- 
patient for the victory, advanced to the attack with their usual 
impetuosity ; the English received the shock with firmness, 
and charged the French in their turn ; their ranks were brok- 
en, thrown into disorder, and pnt to flight. Henry rushed 
out of his camp at the head of his guards, and took vengeance 
on the fugitives, with their battle-ax;;;s : a terrible slaughter 
ensued ; the plain of Agincourt was covered with the wound- 
ed, the dead, and the dying. The loss was \ery inconsider- 
able to Henry, but ruinous to France. Henry returned to 
England to recruit his army, and France was torn and distract- 
ed with civil war. 

The Duke of Burgundy attempted to seize on the crowfi. 



164 MARRIAGE OF KENRV AND CATHERIKE. 

and through the extreme corruption of the French court, ac- 
tually engaged the queen mother, whilst regent to her son. 
the dauphin, to favor his plans and promote his interest. 
Charles VI. at this time in a state of frenzy,- was secured, the 
duke of Burgundy entered France with a powerful army, 
seized" the dauphin, and commenced a general butchery of 
his party and friends, burst open the prisons, and dragged forth 
to indiscriminate slaughter, ail the noblemen he could find. 

In the midst of these scenes, Henry returned, and the 
pope's legate, at a conference, attempted to persuade him to 
withdraw, and leave the French to their fate, or conclude a 
peace. Henry urged his claims to the crown, and plead the 
good he was about to do, in giving law to this distracted na- 
tion. 

At this time the duke of Burgundy was slain, and the queen 
settled a treaty with the new duke — agreed that Henry V. 
should marry the princess Catherine, possess the throne of 
France as heir apparent, take the government as regent dur- 
ing the life of the king, Charles VI. and support the crown 
by his arms. 

Henry married Catherine the next day— established 
Charles, his father, at Paris, settled the affeiirs of the king- 
dom, lived to see an hfir to the throne of France by his queen, 
sickened at Paris, sent for his principal confidents in England, 
arranged his affairs, and died, leaving the regency of France 
to his brother, the d\ike of Bedford, 1422. Charles VI. the 
old king died soon, and the dauphin took the throne as 
Charles VII. and was crowned at Poictiers. 

Catharine, the widow of Henry V. married Sir Owen Tu- 
dor, ageutleman descended fromthp ancient princes of Wales, 
and bore hmi two sons, who became the earls of Richmond 
and Pembroke : and who will claim our notice hereafter. 

Tlie duke of Bedf-rd exerted himself to support the French 
crown for the infant heir, Henry VI. and the dauphin, 
Charl?s VII. made all possible eflforfs to recover his claims. 
Her;^ the partif^s were at issue. James I. was at this time 
in prison in England, and the Scots shewe<l their resentment 
by supporting with their arms the cause of the dauphin, 
Charles VII. To obviate this, the English, agreeable to the 
advice of the regent, the duke of Bedford, entered into alli- 
ance with Jamns, and set hic' at liberty ; but he was soon 
murdered by his kinsman, the e^irl of Alhol, 1437. 

The duke regent overran France, and gamed the battle of 



♦ MAID OF ORLEANS. Hob 

Vernuil, which appeared to be ruinous to the cause of 
Charles VII. but by a wonderful train of erents, proved ruin- 
ous to the :ause of the regent, and occasioned the loss of ajl 
the English possessions upon the continent. The citv of 
Orleans had now become the key of the contending parties, 
and covered their divided provinces. Ciiarles held posses- 
sion, and the duke regent resolved to dispossess hira ; all 
Europe considered the fate of the kingdom to depend on the 
siege of Orleans ; the contending parties exerted all their 
valor and prowess upon both sides ; Charles VII. began to 
despair, and actually made arrangements to withdraw into 
Languedoc and Dauphiny for the security of his army. 

The kind remonstrance of his queen and other fivourites 
at court, diverted Charles from his purpose, and he resolved 
to defend the city. At this critical moment, a very singular 
adventure arrested the attention of Europe : Joan De Arc, a 
country girl of the villige of Domrimi, on the borders of Lor- 
rain, from a low and obscure station, was raised up as the 
deliverer of the city of Orleans. 

Joan announced that bj immediate communications from 
heaven, she had received a special commission to go, and re- 
lieve the city. She went to the governor of the city of Vau- 
couleurs, and obtained his permission to repair to the court 
of Charles VII. at Chinon ; there she was favoorably receiv- 
edj offered to execute the commision of heaven, and deliver 
the city ; .and demanded a particular sword in the church of 
St. Catherine Fierboi?. 

After serious and mature deliberation, her request was 
granted and the sword delivered. Jovn, armed cap-a pie, 
and mounted on horseback, took her departure at the head of 
a numerous retinue, and entered the city of Orleans, arrayed 
in her armor, under the display of her consecrated standard, 
and amidst the acclamations of the garrison and citizens. 

The scene wr.s opened : Joan had pronnised to raise the 
siege of Orleans, and cause Charles to be crowned at Rheims : 
the one was invested, but the other lay in a remote part of 
the kingdom^, guarded by detachments of English troops, in 
all the passes that led to it. 

A general anxiety began to shew itself in the English army, 
and heaviness had seized their spirits. Joan joined count 
Dunois the commander of Orleans, and by several desperate 
and succeisfui sallies, drove the English from their intrencU- 
ments, and actually obliged them to raise the siege. 



I&G »EATH OF JOAN BE ARC. 

She then pressed Charles to accompany her immediately 
to Rbeim?, which he did, at the bead of 12,000 men. Their 
mnrch was r^pid and easy ; Rheims opened hel^ gites, and 
Joan and Charles entered in triumph. Charles Vll. was 
crowned, and anointed with that holy oil which the pigeon 
was said to hav,e bronght from heaven to Clovis ; and all 
France was ready to submit to his authority. 

This simple story needs no comment — we will pursue the 
facts in their consequences. 

To counterbalance this, t!ie duke regent sent for the young 
king from England, Henry VI. and had him crowned, and 
conducted all his movetne-its with the caution of a Fabius, to 
elude the attack of Charlos. 

Joan, at the coronation of Charles at Rheims, declared her 
commission closed, and demiinded permission to retire, but 
was overpersuaded to attempt the defence of the town of 
Compeign, then besieg*=!d by the duke. Here she a(tem[)ted 
the same i^allies as at Orleans, was. taken prisoner, condemn- 
ed*by an ecclesiastical court as a witch and a sorceress, atid 
committed to the flames. 

Thus perished the heroine of Orleans, who deservf^d a 
better fate, in 1431. The duke regent died s.ion afler — ftc- 
tinn5 sprar.g up in England, when Henry took the throne ; 
Ch irles recovered alltlie English possessions in France, ex- 
cept Ct'dais.; tbt-. storm of war hushed into a calm, whiJ-^ttfie 
affairs of £n;',]-jnd took up the attention of Henry, and the par- 
ties vvithdv: w from the conte?t without, even a truce, 1453. 
France continued to recover her order, and England contin- 
ued to dechfif. 

We leit Albert Duke of Austria upon the imperial throne, 
where he ^tu-rrptfed an expedition against the Turks, but fell 
a prt y to the dv i^isiijt.'ry 1 439, and was succeeded by his broth- 
er Fr-dcric III. duke of Austria ; Albert's infant son Lariis- 
la..s inherit'.';! H-fi'^rwy and Bohemia, under the guardian- 
ship of Fr^'ioric HI. A grand council was no'v assembled 
at B:jsil b_y order of the council of Constance, " to reform 
Ih ' c'urch universal, both in its he^'d and meml>ers." This 
co'ir.cil haJ raisf^d to the chair Felix V. in opposition to Ea- 
geni IS IV. who opposed the meeting of this council. 

Frederic III. repaired to this council, after having enjoyed 
an interview with their pope Frhx, who he endeavoured to 
persuade to resign the chair to Eugenius and restore peace 
to the church ; Felix resigned, E igenius died, Nicholas Y. 
was raised to the chair, and the schism was healed. 



CAPTURE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 167 

The healing of this religious faction made Frederic very 
opular, and opened a new scene. The factions of Germany 
ad for a long time left the states of Italy a prey to their in- 
rigues and civil wars, and the emperor now entered upon a 
Dur of Italy, t'> heal the contentions, to meet Eleonora, sister 
the king of Portugal, to whom he was engaged in marriage, 
nd to receive the Roman crown. 

Ail the cities of Italy vied with each other in testifying 
heir respect for the emperor ; ambassadors and deputations 
rom all the principal cities, met him at the foot of the Alps, 
ourted his attention, and graced his train. 

Venice, Milan, Florence, and Bologna, received the empe- 
'or with great magnificence, and Sienna witnessed the first 
nterview with the princess Eleonora, where he gave audi- 
mce to the legates of the pope.* The emperor had now 
aken the first step to enter Rome, he next approached the 
;ity by the way of Viterbo, (where he was insulted by the pop- 
ilace and his life endangered) and pitched his tent under the 
vails of Rome, according to custom, and passed the night, 
rhe next morning Frederic entered Rome attended by the~ 
vhole college of cardinals, amidst the acclamations of the 
people, and was crowned king of Lombardy ; on the third 
lay his marriage with the princess Eleonora was consumma- 
ed, the concordat of the German Empire ratified with the 
30pe, and the emperor returned to Germany, in 1452. 

At this time the Turks entered Constantinople in triumph, 
)verthrew the last vestige of the Roman Empire, and putaa 
ind to the legs of iron in the great image of Nebuchadnezzar. 

Thus far we have traced the progress »' man through all 
he mazes of revolution, in the rise and fall of the four great 

* Here Frederic complied with the usages of Emperors before he 
!ntered Rome, and took the following oath : " I Frederic king of the 
[lomans, promise and swear by the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, by 
:he wood of Ihe vivifying cross, and by these relics of saints, that if by- 
he permission of the Lord I shall come to Rome, I will exalt the holy 
[loman church and his holiness who presides over it to the utmost in my 
DOwer. iNeither shall he lose life, hmb, or honor by my counsel, con- 
lent, or exhortation. Nor will I, in the city of Rome, make any law 
>r decree touching those things that belong to his holiness, or the Ro- 
wans, without the advice of our most holy Lord Nicholas. Whatever 
part of St. Peter's patrimony shall fall into our hands, we will restore it 
;o his holiness ; and he to whom we shall commit the administration of 
)ur ivingdom of Italy, shall swear to assist his holiness in defending St. 
Peter's patrimony to the utmost of his power. So help me God aadl 
•ih holy evangelists." 



168 MURDER ©F THE BUKE OF GLOUCESTEE. 

empires of the earth, distinguished also by the four beasts la 
the vision of the prnrphet Daniel ; of whom it was said, " a- 
rise, devour much flesh." We have also traced the revolu- 
tions which have distressed the world under the reign of that 
little horn, which gre»v out of the horns ofth& fourth beast, 
and seen the plains of ancient Greece, formerly so renown- 
ed in the Persian and Roman wars, become the theatre of 
christian and mahometan conflict. 



CHAP. XXI. 

Recapitulation — civil wars in England — of France — war in 
Flanders. 

The feet of the Roman empire are now distinctly formed, 
as in the great image of Nebuchadnezzar, where the iron is 
mixed with clay. The beast and the false prophet are now 
firmly seated in the two great capitals, exercising universal 
sovereignty. The kingdoms of the west under the dominion 
of the little horn, will continue to claim our attention. 

We have noticed the struggles in France, during the mi- 
nority of Henry VI. under the regency of his uncle, the duke 
of Bedford, and the ruin of the aff'airs of England which fol- 
lowed the death of the duke regent. The character and 
reign of Henry VI. in England, now claim our attention. 

The we'rfk reign of Henry, op^.ned the way for Richard, 
duke of York, to ♦et up his claim to the crown, which he 
had derived from his mother Philippa, only daughter of the 
duke of Clarence, second son of Edward HI. ; and who claim- 
ed precedence of the title of the duke of Lancaster, who was 
third son of Edward. 

The duke of York had high claims, was valiant, very rich, 
allied by marriage to the best blood of the nation, and gene- 
rally beloved. 

The queen mother, assisted by the earl of Suff'olk, still con- 
tinued the regency m England, where they were not only 
unpopular, but accused as the secret cause of all the losses in 
France ; and as Margaret was a French woman, they were 
even accused of treachery ; the murder of the duke of Glou- 
cester, which was ^^Iso imputed to them, confirmed all suspi- 
cions, and rendered them odious to the nation. 



CIVIL WAR IN EN'GLANJI. 16^ 

The duke of York kncAV how to avail himself of this state 
of things'; he proceeded to accuse Sufiblk in parliament, had 
him banii^hed for five years, and caused him to be murdered 
on his passage to France. 

The duke of Sojnerset succeeded in the administration, 
and in the esteem of the queen ; this transferred the public 
odium to him ; and the parliament approached the throne 
with a petition that the duke of Somerj-et might be excluded 
from the councils of the nation. Somerset was arrested, 
sent to the tower, and the duke of York appointed lieutenant 
of ihe kingdom, with all the powers of rrgent. 

Hpnry VI. recovering from the depressed state of his health 
and spirits, attempted to check the overbearing power of 
Richard "by force. The duke was prepared, and a battle 
was fought ; Richard was victorious, the king was taken, his 
army dispersed, and a general accommodation took place be- 
tween the parties, which was sealed in the public vi3w, by 
a mutual procession and te deum, in the cathedral of St. Paul, 
1453. 

The trifling incident of a quarrel between two servants of 
the contending parties, again threw the nation into a civil 
war, and caused the battle of Blow-heath, where again Rich- 
ard was successful. This increased the violence of the par- 
ties, and the jealousy of the nation towards Richard ; the 
treachery of one of his principal generals, who deserted to the 
king, obliged Richard to flee to Ireland, and abandon his cause. 

In this critical state of affairs, the earl of Warwick appear- 
ed in Kent, assembled an army by the influence of his popu- 
lar talents, marched to London, from thence amidst the tri- 
umph of popular applause, he advanced to meet the king. 
The two annies met at Northampton, an action was fought, 
Warwick was victorious, the king was taken, and carried in 
triumph to London. 

Richard returned to England, approached parliament with 
great dignity, modesty and firmness, plead his title to the 
crown, and retired. The hou^e of peers with the advice of 
the commons, ratified the claims of Richard, made him re- 
gent during the life of Henry, and upon his death, secured 
the throne, as the true and lawful heir. 

Margaret the queen had fled during these struggles, into 
Scotland, where she raised a poxverful army of twenty thou- 
sand men, and entered England to dispute the prize. 

Richard advanced to meet the queen ; a battle was fought 
IS 



no CIVIL WAR IN ENGLAND. 

near Wakefield, RicharJ was slain, and his second son ear! of 
Rutland, taken and murdered ; the earl of Salisbury shared 
the vSa»ne fate, and opened the way for a war of extermination, 

Margaret marched towards London ; the earl of Warwick 
met her at St. Albans, a battle ensued, Warwick was beaten, 
and fled to London, and Margaret recovered her captive king. 

This victory was checked by the approach of young Ed- 
ward (then t^venty years of age) son of the late duke of York, 
with a strong force, elated with their late successes. The 
queen retired to avoid an action ; Ed'vard entered London in 
triumph, set up his claim to the crown in right of his father, 
was owned and received by the acclamations of the people, 
confirmed by the house of lords, and crowned king, as Ed- 
ward IV. 

Here opened the exterminating scene of carnage and des- 
truction in the civil war of the houses of Yyrk and Lancaster^ 
(or war of the white and red rose.) The two armies were 
now augmented to about forty thousand men : they met near 
Towton, an action commenced, both parties drew the sword 
and rushed to close combat, the conflict was obstinate, the 
carnage was great, the Lanc^istrians fled, Edward pursued, 
no quarter was tfie order of the day, and the butchery was 
awful : thirty-six thousand fell on the field, and in the flight. 
The action was decisive, and Margaret and Henry fled to 
Scotland for safety and succor. 

The divided state of Scotland, under the reign of James 
HL (who had succeeded Jaxnes IL) was in no situation to heal 
her own factions ; yet she ventured to proifer agsistance to 
Margaret, upon the condition that she should deliver ap the 
couquered fortress of Berwick, and contract her son in mar- 
riao^e vvith asist«r;r of James HI. This being settled, Margaret 
assembled an army of English, Scots, and French, and advan- 
ced into England. 1464. 

Lord Montecute met her at Hexham, attacked, routed, 
and dtstroy{?d her army, either in the field or on the scafl'old. 
Margaret and her son fled into a deep forest, where she was 
robb'-^d by one set of banditti, and protected, with her son, bj 
another, until she found her way into France. Henry was 
discovered, after one whole year's concealment, carried to 
London and committed to the tower ; and the tranquillity of 
the nation was retored. 

Edw »rd sent the earl of Warwick into France, to negotiate 
a treaty of marriage with the sister ef the queen of France, 



CIVIL WAR IN KNGLANB. 171 

and in his absence was smitten vvitli the charms of lady Eli- 
zabeth Gray, (whose husband fell in the battle of St. Albans, 
and whose estate had been confiscated by Richard ;) he offer- 
ed her his hand, and the half of his crown ; was accepted, 
and the marriage consummated without the privity of War- 
wick. This raised his irreconcilable revenge : he returned 
to England, put himself at the head of the Lancastrians, and 
took the field. Edward, deserted by his friends, felt himself 
unsafe at the head of his army, and tied into Holland ; Henry 
VI. was once more res^tored to the throne, and the parlia- 
ment declared Edward IV. an usurper, in 1470. 

The factions in England opened the way for Edward to re- 
turn the next year. He entered London in triumph, after 
having routed the army of Warwick, and seen him and his 
brother the marquis of Montague, both dead before him, and 
his army given up to the exterminating cry of no quarter. 

Margaret, with her young son, eighteen years of age, lan- 
ded from France, on th(i iatal day, and took shelter in the 
abbey of Beaulieu, where she assembled an army by the as- 
sistance of her friends, took the^field, and met Edward at 
TevTksbury. An action ensued ; Margaret was routed, her 
army cut to pieces and destroyed, she and her son v^erelaken 
prisoners, her son was murdered, Margaret thrown into t4ie 
tower, and Edward again restored to the throne. 

Having exterminated all his rivals, Edward assembled an 
army to divert and unite the nation ; embarked for France, 
and alarmed Levvis XL into an honourable treaty and return- 
ed to England with seventy-five thousand crowns, and a stip- 
ulation for fifty thousand more annually for life, lifty'thou- 
sand for the ransom of Queen Margaret who retired to France, 
and lived and died in peace. 

Factions were generally laid now in England, and Edward, 
after causing the restless spirit of the duke of Claience to be 
appeased in a butt of malmsey wine, enjoyed a tranquil tiirone, 
and died in the forty second year of iiis age, 1483, 

Edward V. then thirteen years of age, succeeded his fath- 
er, under the regency of his uncle Ricliard, duke of Glouces- 
ter, who was chosen protector, and who fixed his eye upon 
the crown. 

Between Richard and the throne stood the sons of Edward 
IV. and two of the duke of Clarence, with their powerful 
friends. The laRer were dispatched in bloody succession, 
whilst the young princes were snug in the 'toTrer ; Richard 
swam in blood to the throne through the acclamations of the 



HOUSE OF TUDOR. 



mob, sealed his power by the murder of the princes 1:1 the 
tower, and reigned the scourge and terror of the nation. 

Catherine of Fiance, relict of Hen:}' V. had married sir 
Owen Tudor (as was noiicei) and left Henry earl of Rich- 
mond, -vho was descended from John dike of Lancaster, son 
of iMlvvar<i III. hy the «ide of the mi^ther, and the only branch 
of t 1-? coritendiig family of Lancaster ; the enemies of Ptich- 
ard e.>t 'red into secret ne'^otiations to restore ihe throne to 
the true line, through Henry, under the management of the 
dakeot Buckingham. 

Ric'^ard, in order to dafeat these plans, proposed to marry 
the prinre.ss Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV. and pister,of 
the murdered princes, and actually obtained the consent of 
the queen mother ; when Henry landed from France with 
?ix thour^and men, and erected his standard io Wales. The 
Welch rallied round the standard of a de-cendant of their an- 
cient kings, and at their head Henry advanced into England. 
Richard was prepared ; the two armies met at Boswortb, a 
b;*ttle was fought, the conflict was obstinate, Henry was tri- 
umphant, Richard fell, and the j istice of the sword took ven- 
geance on this monster of cruelty, tyranny, and blood. 

Hefiry was at once crowned king by his army (with the 
:rown Richard wore in tJie action,) and hailed as the deliver- 
ei'of the nation ; his title was acknowledged by parliament, he 
was next married to tii? princess Elizabeth, and commenced 
the dynasty of the house of Tudor, under the title of Henry 

vn. 

During these struggles in England, Charles VII. king of 
L'^rance, organized and established hi? government, secured 
the possessions acquired from the English, established a reg- 
ular army, raised a revenue fjr their regular pay, and es- 
tablished a regular conscription throughout France, of one 
archer from each village, who was exempt from tax. This 
laid the foundation in France for the title of gentlemen, both 
in name and in arms. 

In the midst of these wise measures, Lewis XI. rebelled 
against his father, caused his death, and usurped his throne, 
1461. This produced such change* as opened a civil war ; 
his disaffected nobles flew to arms, and both parties took the 
tield ; they fought, but without decision, and Levvis gained 
hy negociation what he could not obtain by his sword, and 
settled the peace of his crown, 1465. 

The rapacity Qf Lewis soon led him into new troubles and 
entangled him in a quarrel with Charles the Bold, son of 



Marriage of Maximilian. 173 

Philip duke of Burgundy ; both parties took the field, but 
Lewis bought off n ith money, and hebl a private interview 
with Ch;irles at Peronne, (then in po??esj^ion of Charlp.^ ;) 
here Charles caused Lewis to be secured in the castle, and 
held him as his priso,i)er, compelled him to march agunst 
Liege m support of Charles' claims, and assist in the reduc- 
tion and ruin of Liege. 

Upon the return of his liberty, he attempted to unite to his 
croTvn Burgundy, FrancheCompte, Artois, Flanders, and al- 
most all the Netherlands, by a marriage between his son 
Charles the Dauphin (then seven years of age) and the Prin- 
cess, daughterofthe duke of Burgundy, who was sole heiress- 

This failed, and the Princess Mary, was married to Maxi- 
milian L son of the Emperor Frederic III. which laid the 
foundation for all those wars between France and Auftria, 
which desolated the low countries. 

Lewis settled a truce in Flanders, but the troubles of France 
continued to his death, and the horrors of this scene inflicted 
some punishment on him for the cruelties of his life. Lewis 
ivas the first king of France who assumed the'title of most chris- 
tian majesty ; he vvas saccceded by his son Charles VIIL at 
fourteen years of age, and the regency was conducted by the 
duke of Orleans, afterwards Lewis XIL 



CHAP. XXIL 

Ji general view of Europe ; league of Gambray ; commence- 
ment of the Reformation* 

Thus having surveyed this dark and distressing period of 
eleven centuri* s, we corne down to that epoch in the history 
of Europe, when the reigns of Charles the VIIL of France, 
Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, Henry Vll. of En^lr.nd, 
Mixii- ilian L of Germany, and pope Sixtus the IVth, and Al- 
exander VL fornitd a new constellation in the western hen^is- 
pher , a period when the balance oi power tirst began to be 
felt a.id understood ; that balance of power which has been 
the subject of such distressing and expensive wars, and con- 
tinues to this day to waste the bloo i and treasures of Europe, 

Charles VIIL was a prince of great ambition, and upon the 
commencement of his reign found all the great liefs of Fr aace. 

16 * ' 



iT4 BALANCE OP POWER.^ 

united to the throne, except the duchy of Britt^nj ; this it be- 
came the interest of the nation to unite to the crown by a mar- 
riage between Charles and the duchess. After the removal 
of several important obstacles, this was tiDaliy accomplished, 
and Charles found himself at the head of an undivided throne. 

The union of the kingdoms of Castile and Arra^on, under 
Ferdinand and Isabella, was accomplished by a similar mar- 
riage in Spain. Under their patronage, Christopher Colum- 
bus opened a new world to the family of man in 1492. Hen- 
ry the VII. by the victory of Bosworth, the death of Richard 
the lil. the last of the Plantagenets, and by the marriage of 
Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV. quieted the civil wars of 
England, and restored tranquillity to the throne. 

Maximilian I. by creating the high court of the imperial 
chamber in Germany, qui^ ted in a great measure the feuds 
vvhioh had long distracte*! the empire, established a union 
very much like the Acbean league in ancient Greece, and 
secured tranquillity. 

Of t^'ese popes like all tlieir predecessors, we cannot find 
onei»;ood thing to^ay, and pass overtiie many corrupt things 
we might say, to det them rest in silence. 

The system of the balance of power which now began to 
regulate the great theatre of European politics, took its rise 
in the It.dian claims, and was confirmed by the expedition of 
Charles VIII to support his title to the kingdom of Naples, 
which he claimed as heir to the house of Aujou. 

Charles marched into Italy, took an uncontested possession 
of the throne of Naples, marched to Rome, took possession 
as a conqueror, humbded pupe Alexander VI. in the castle 
of St. Angelo, prescribed cortditions to the sinali;-r states, and 
thu» gave law to Italy. He caused himself to be prochiimed 
emperor of the east, upon a grant of Paleologus, when the em- 
pire 6f Constantinople fell into the hands of the Turks. This 
bold stride of Charles cslled forth a confederacy composed 
of the empfiror Maxi,ailia?i I. Ferdinand and Isabella, the 
Venetians, and the duk.o of Milan, sanctioned by the p.ope. 

In this union they Inid a-iHe their priy.iie animosities, for- 
med one common interest, compelled Charles to retrace his 
isteps, return to Frince, und le.-^ign the conquest of Italy in 
less time than ii hid taken him to acquire it. His exce.-ses 
soon closed his life, and he died in 1498, leaving his tiiroiieto 
Le-vii-i Xil. ; the fruits of this coalition have been the means of 
'preserving the balance of power, by a similar resbrty to this de^y- 



LEAGUE OP CAMBRAV. 175 

Henry VII. of England made an effort to recover the pror- 
ince of Brittany in the reign of Charles VIII. bnt was appeas- 
\ ed with a large sum of money, and Brittany, together with 
^^rgundy, passed into the hands of Lef»is XII. then to Fran- 
cis^L.and the kingdom has remained entire. The success of 
the coaUtion against Charles VIII. led to a new theatre of 
events. _ ' ' 

The republic of V'enice, together with Genoa, became the 
carriers of Europe in the time of the crusades, which laid 
the foundation for that commerce which had now raised those 
cities above all others in Europe, both in wealth, splendor, 
and the arts. Venice had not only enriched and embelliighed 
her city, but enlarged her state by seizing on the dominions 
of her neighbors, and had become so formidable as to alarm 
the fears and jealousy of pope Juliuj II. 

Situated at the head of the Gulf of Venice, or j^driatic Sea, 
she had supplanted the aftcient city of Tyre, and engrossed 
the ci5mmerce not only of Europe, but of Asia and even of 
Africa ; her government which was altogether in the hands 
of the nobles, had stood unshaken amidst all the storms that 
surrounded her, and set at deliance the domination of the 
chair of St. Peter. 

Julius formed a coalition to humble her known by the league 
of Cambray. The principals of this league were Maximilian 
I. of Germany, Lewis XII. of France, Ferdmand of Spain, 
together with the princes of Italy generally. The Venetians 
suffered this storm to gather and burst upon their heads with- 
out one effort to divert it ; their long uninterrupted prosper- 
ity had corri'pted their policy, and lulled them into security. 

Overwhelmed by thi«; mighty force, they abandoned all 
their conquests, shut themeelves; up in their city, and sued for 
peace. Julius, who was at the head of this league, and who 
had thrown his keys into the Tiber, drawn his sword to as- 
sert his dominion and become a rbampion of Mars, seized on 
and recovered such territory as lay within, and contiguous 
to his ecclcsiavtical estates, and settled a peace. 
' Alarmed at the for.Tiidable force of Lewis, as well as the 
rest of the allies, Julius absolved the Venetians fromhif spir- 
itual thunders, united them in his interest to expel all for- 
eigners out of Italy, and drew i«is swoid upon Lewy^. Julius 
diverted Ferdin ind from the league, united the Swiss in his 
interest, and solicited asid obtained the aid of Henry VllL oT 
England, who co operated in the war. 



T76 MARTIN LUTHEP., 

The battle of Ravenna lost Lewis all his claims in Itah% 
and his flisjht was as rapid as the flight ot^jis predecessor 
Charles VIII. Julius succeedpd in ail his plans and died at an 
advanced age, leaving the chair to Leo X 1513. 

Henry VilL followed up the blow, formed a league with 
Maximilian, and the two sovereigns took the fi.^ld in Flanders 
against Lewi* XII. where the emperor Mrixiiiilian served in 
the pay and under the command of Henry VIII. of England. 

H^re commenced the Er^i^lish and German coalitions in 
Flanders against France. Henry was entangleri in a war with 
Scotland, and Lewis with pope Leo X. at the same time. 
The war in Flanders became a war of posts ; the campaign 
closed without advantage to the parties, Henry rfUurn 3ti to 
England, a peace was settled gevieraily by intermarringesthe 
next season, and the storm of war was again hushed. 

Lewis died 1516, and was succeeded by his son-in-law, 
Francis I ; the nnxt year died Ferdinand of Spain, who was 
succeeded by his grandson Charles, h;Mr to the archduke 
Philip, sovereign of the low countries, who also w.as elected 
emperor of Germany, upon the death of i>I,iximilian, under 
the title of Charles V. 1519. 

Amidst this bright constellation of princes, upon the 
thrones of England, France, Spain and Germany, a]>peared 
Martin Lut'ner, the angel of the gospil, and the champion of 
the reformation. At this period the use of k-tters, uDderthe 
art of printing, the use of gunpowder in the art of war, the 
use of the marin-'r's compass in the art of navigation, the 
improvements of husbandry, manj.f*ctures, and commerce, 
together with the discovfry of a new world, commenced a 
new pra in the annals of man, open-^d a new hold for thp dis- 
play of talents, enterprise and ambition, gav^ to th^ rtligion 
of the gospel a triumph over the bigotry, idolatrous SMpersti- 
tion and corruption of popery, and opened tlie way for the 
establish«i'::'nt of a purer church in Europe, and in this wes- 
tern wilderness. 



CHAP. XXIII. 

General state of sociefy, commerce, namgaiion^ and the arts in 
Europe — -fore^n adventures and dlscoveriesr—reforuiation 
coiitinued. 

Before we enter upon that all-important scene, the re- 



DISCOVERY OF INDIA. 177 

forraition under Martin Luther, let us take a view of com- 
merce, navigation, the arts, and stnte of society generally, at 
this eventful age. 

Portugal which l^ad b>ien erected into a kingdom by duke 
Alphoriso Henriquez, 1139 ; vva« torn by feuds, and dis.'rac- 
ted by prrpetual vvars witii the Moor?, un:il the reign of king 
John, 1385. He, like Alfred of England, turned the atterition 
of ihe nation to their fleet. His successor, Don Henry, 
enlarged and improved t'ne plans of bis father, cultivated the 
sciences -.viih great succes^s, applied the science of astronomy 
to the ait cf navigation, arrd taught the Portuguese how to ex- 
plore distant lands, who by their successful eftbns were in- 
spired with a spirit for distfint adventure. The same spirit 
grew and increased under the succeeding reign of John H. 
who transmitted it to his successor, Emanuel I. 

At the commencement of his reign, he found that the whole 
coast of Africa, upon the shore of the Atlantic had been ex- 
plored by his predecessor, as f^ir as the Cape of Good Hope, 
the Azores and Cape de Verd Islands, were opened to their 
view, and the vine and sugar cane were introduced into Ma- 
deira with success. 

Emanuel, alive to the spirit and successes of national enter- 
prize, sent a fleet of four ships under Vaaco de Gama, to ex- 
plore the Indian Ocean, who discovered Hindostan or hither 
India, 1498, touched at the city of Calicut, on the Malabar 
coast, then greatly enriched by the trade of the Arabs, who 
were the carriers of the wealth of India, by the way of the 
Red Sea to Egypt, or by the way of Palmyra to Tyre aad Si- 
don ; from whence the Venetians and Genoese conveyed it to 
Europe. 

De Gama, after a perilous but successful voyage, returned 
to Lisbon, and thus laid the foundation of the commerce of 
India, by the vvay of the Cape of Good Hope. Pope Alex- 
ander VI. granted to Emanuel all bis new discoveries, and 
all such as he should discover, provided he should propagate 
th^ christian religion. 

Fired with Zealand enterprize, in commerce, and religion, 
the whole nation caught the flame ; and on a second adven- 
ture with thirteen ships, under Alvarez de Cabral, they tra- 
versed the great Atlantic, explored the coast of Brazil on the 
continent of South America, in 1600, took possession under 
'the title of the land of the holy cross, pursued thoir voyage 
by the Wijy of the Cape of Good Hope to India, esitaldit^ht^d 
with the sword an independent tiade, and returned to Lisbon, 



i78, DISCOVERY OF ISttlA. 

A strong force was sent out in 1602, which confirmed the 
former establishment in Hidia, burnt Calicut, and made Goa, 
the emporium of Portuguese commerce in India. In 1511, 
Albuquerque, the Portuguese governor of India, took the city 
of Malacca. He ruined the commerce of Egypt with Ind-ia, 
by hi« depredations on the shores of the red sea, and thus 
turned the wealth of huiia to Lisbon. 

Albuquerque, after all these services for his country and 
the world, like his great prototype, Christopher Columbus, 
feil a sacrifice to the euvy and malice of his enemies, and 
died of a broken henrt, in poverty and disgrace. 

The Portuguese afterwards extended their commerce to 
China and Japan. ^The discoveries of Christopher Colum- 
bus, 1492, we will reserve for the history of AmftrsQa. — The 
English, the Spatjiards, aad the Dutch, were soon engaged in 
the commerce of the east ; and al! that wealth which used to 
pa*s into the west, by the way of the Persian gulf, to Tyre 
and the Red Sea, to Cairo and Alexandria, and from ther ce, 
by the ships of Venice and Genoa, to Flanders in the low 
countries, ani Dantzic and other ports on the Baltic, and 
thence gevier.iUy diffused over Europe — was at this time 
brought to Lisbon, by the way of the Cape of Good Hope, 
which continues to this day the highway of the commerce of 
the west with the east. 

Martin Lnther comaienced his labors in Ibe heart of Ger- 
many, of unfolding to the world the mystery of iniquity which 
had for so many centuries been veiled in the mysteries of 
popery, by publishing the pure doctrines of the gospel in a 
langOHge familiar to all, and discloving the corruptions of the 
b'Tj^'st without morals, without religion, and without the au- 
thority of God. 

France and Spain were now ensrrossed in the strife between 
Charles V. and Francis 1. for supremacy in Iti^ly. Henry 
VIII. of England -as engaged in holding a balance of power 
between them, wi)ilst Lv^ther was in the heart of Gsrm-any, 
publishing good tiditjgs of good things. 

He w»s opposed by pope Clement VII. who summoned a 
diet at Worms to check tile progess of Luther, who had con- 
verted to the fdith nearly one half of Geriftany, and gained 
the confidence of a great part of the remainder. The edicts 
ofthji di?t of Worms, and the spiritual thunders of Clement, 
were lo«t rn the nil ; Luther set them at defiance. 

Charles V. alarmed for the safety of the fJiurch, and the 



»1ET OF SPIRES. 179 

leace of Germany, assembled the diet of Spires to take ihto 
;6nsideration the state of religion ; the}' confirmed the edicts 
>f Worms ; this called forth the protest of the elector of 
mxony, the Landgrave of Hesse, the duke of Lurenburg. the 
)rince of Anhalt, with the deputation of fourteen fre« impe- 
ial cities, against the edict of Spires, and fixed to the follow- 
ers of Luther the name of protestants, which continues to 
his day. 

Melancthon, who co-operated with Luther, drew up a sys- 
em of principles, styled the confesuion of Augsburg, which 
)ecarae the strong hold of attack and defence through this 
vonderful contest; resisted the sword, the torch and the 
gibbet, with all the malice of hellish assassination ; stood the 
)alladium of the reformation, triumphed over the beast with 
iis ten horns, and has transmitted the blessings of " peace 
)n earth and good will to men," down to the present pe- 
■iod. 

The great contest in Italy between Charles V. and Fran- 
cis I. (in which Francis failed, and was led a prisoner from 
he siege of Pavia into Spain,) served to divert the attention 
)f these powers, and open the way for the more easy spread 
)f the reformation — and the effects of these very struggles, 
md this commerce, were, to expand the minds of men, and 
'acilitate the easy and general circulation of the scriptures of 

TUtb. 

Kenry VIIL of England, with a steady eye to the balance 
)f power in Europe, effected the restoration of Francis L 
ifter a capU^ity of tn o years, entered into the religious quar- 
rels of the day, and by his defence of popery, obtained from 
he pope the title of defender of the faith : but when his 
loliness refused to sanction the divorce of his wife, he 
hrew off the mask, severed his kingdom of England from 
he holy see, founded the reformed protestant episcopal 
;hurch, by a decree of his parliament, placed himself at its 
lead, and at one bold stroke abolished all the religious 
cloisters of England — thus rooting out popery, b}- the des- 
ruction of these sinks of corruption, together with the in- 
iuence of the monks, those pests and drones of society, who 
;overned them. 

Henry proceeded to divorce his first wife, Catherine of 
Jpain, and in succession married five others ; of these two 
^ere divorced, two beheaded, and two died natural deaths. 



180 i»EATH OF MARTIN tlTTHER. 

Henry was no Lutheran, and so full was he of the ideas ot 
heretics, that he denounced all who questioaed his suprema- 
cy, and brought to the block all who advocated the doctrines 
of L'lther. 1 he six articles (called the bloody bill) which, 
Henry forced through his parliament, proved him to be yet 
an orthodox catholic ; the observance of these articles he 
enf )rced with the punishment of death. 

Henry VHI. went very far however to promote the refor- 
mation in England ; though he was as bloody an enthusiast 
and tyrant, as many of the popes of Rome. 



CHAP. XXIV-. 



A^airs of Germany — England — France — massacre of St. Bar- 
tholomew, 

The confession of Augsburg, and the league of Smalkalde, 
which united the faith and energies of the protestants in Ger- 
many, maintained a firm resistance to the powers of the em- 
peror and the pope, until they were broken by the civil wars, 
and the reduction of Saxony. This stroke gave strength and 
confidence to the emperor ; he convoked tne diet of Augs- 
burg, and published hit interim. 

This placed Charles between two fires, excited the indig- 
nation of the pope, and his despotic sway united more firmly 
the protestant league of Smalkalde, and brought in prince 
Maurice, who had subdued Saxony for the emperor, to oppose 
Charles, and support the protestant league. lo the niidst of 
these scenes, died Clement VH. and Francis I. who were 
succet ded by Paul III and Henry H. 

This change of measures in Maurice, humbled the haughty 
pl^tis of Charles, and fixed the reformation upon an immova- 
ble basis in Germany. 

In the midst of the^e troubles, and immediately after the 
league of Smalkalde, died Martin .Luther ; having kindled 
the reforo ttion, and bavins lived to realize that waters 
could no! quenf.ii, and th 't flood? could uot drown it ; but 
that away was already prepared for it to illuminate the world. 

Thus we hav<i seen how the prediction of the prophet has 
been fulfilled in this angel of the gospel ; every protestant 



EDWARD Vr. 181 

divine from that day to this, has added one more bl-ist to the 
trump of the immortal Luther; and all who sh j1! follovv, will 
continue to swell the blast, till the commencement of the 
millenial day. 

In the midst of the triumphs of the reformation in Germa- 
ny died Henry VII!. of England, who was succeeded by his 
only son, Edward VI. at nine years of age. Henry settled 
his crown by will ; first upon Edward, (by Jane Seymour;) 
then to Mary, (by Catherine of Arra^on ;) then to Elizabeth, 
(by Anne Bolyn.) ^ During the mmority of Edward, the re- 
gency devolved upon hl^ uncle, the Duke of Somerset, with 
the title of protector, together with live other executors, with 
archbishop Cranmerat their head. Under ttiis protectorate, 
a war sprang up between England and Scotland, which led 
the Scots to senil the young princess Mary into France for 
her education. It produced no decisive events, and -closed^ 
with the triumph of the reformation in England, and the es- 
tablishment of the church and Liturgy, as they now stand at 
this day. 

The intrigues of the earl of Northumberland, which brought 
to the block the regent and protector, and upon the death of 
Edward VI. conferred the throne npon Lady .Jane Gray, to 
the exclusion of the heir named in Henry's will — the arm of 
justice, supported by the voice of the nation, which set aside 
lady Jane Gray, brought the earl of Northumberland to the 
block, and placed the crown upon Mary, the rightful heir— • 
we shall pass over, together with the bloody reign of queen 
Mary, in which she attempted to restore the Catholic reli- 
gion, with the union and sovereignty of the holy see, at the 
expense of the best blood of the nation. 

In this bloody reign, a John Rogerg, a Latimer, a Cran- 
mer, and other worthies of the protestant church, fell a sa- 
crifice. An insurrection to resist these sanguinary scenes, 
and restore lady Jane Gray and her husband, lord Dudley, 
to the throne, brought these v/oithies to the block, together 
with many who abetted their cause ; popery swam in 
blood five years, when, the nation was relieved by the 
death of Mary, and the accession of the illustrious Elizabeth, 
1568. 

In the same year, Charles V. at the age of fifty-six, besr 
towed his crown and sceptre upon his son Philip II. king of 
Spain, and husband of Mary queen of England — that he might 
p.'^ss the remainder of his days in retirementand private life 

16 



ib:^ t^UEEN ELIZABETH 

he left the reformation triumphant in Germany, part of Swit- 
zerland, in En.<j:land and Scolhmd, with fl\vour<ible prospects 
in France and Irehmd. 

One of the first steps of Elizabeth was, to extend the arm 
of protection to the j)rot('stants in Scotland, already worn 
d Hvn by a popish persecution,, during the regency of queen 
j^Iary, instigated and supported by the intrigues of France, 
under the influence of her husband, Francis 11. who had suc- 
'Ceeded Henry II. The reformation, after a severe and des- 
perate struggle, triumphed over all opposition in Scotland, 
by the assistance of queen E'izibeth, and established there 
the protestcint prpsbyteriaa church, a^ enjoy* d ;;t this day. 

The death of Francis II. at this time, left the queen of 
Scots without issue, guaranteed to the pmtestants of Scotland 
the enjoyment of their religion, and to Ehzabeth the tranquil- 
lity of her t! ro ;e. 

Charles IX. succeeded to the throne at ten years of age, 
and the ki; gdo'r. fell under the regency of the queen mother ; 
the king of Navarre was named lieutenant general of France. 
At this time the reformation had taken deep root in France ; 
and the catrohcs and protestants were so nearly balanced, 
that some degree of tolerritton became necessary on the part 
of the crown to ap[)ease the violence of party. An edict 
was according!' published, allowing to protestants the free 
erjovmcnt of ti^eir religion, without the walls of cities. 
Tl is edict led to a ci\ii war, in which Philip II. of Spain en- 
ga«-ed in the bitternrss of his heart against the protestants ; 
a: .^ Elizabe'-h oi EtjghuKi, t'lat champion of the rcforniation, 
h: their support. The p<rotestants after a severe struggle, 
were sncoessfui, and obtained a further guarantee of their 
privil "i;:'S. 

Upon t',e return of M »ry, from France to Scotland, after the 
d; .:'h ( i" *■ r husband, Francis It. king of France, she car- 
n •<! 'vit ; her all the elegance and f^plendor of her person, 
p ds^h 'd bv ;; Feench erlucation, arid thp principles arid biigot- 
ry of the catholic religion ; this, notwithstanding all her ef- - 
f,;it« to pfevtvit it, poison -d the nation, and embittered her 
lif-, by alienatisii; trie affections of her people, ."exciting their 
jfilonsy and distrust, and inflaming the protestants to open 
acts of disrespect, insult, violence and rebellion. 
. 'JTi^ rebellion in Scotjai'd led Mary to France for counsel 
and support, where the retbrmation was denounced, and a 
total overthrow upon the continent, especially in France, 



PROTECTOR OF PROTESTANTISM. 183 

Spain, and the low countries, concerted at Bayouae by the 
holy or catholic league. When Mai-y became acquainted with 
this, she determined to co-operate iti Scotland, and suppress 
the rebellious prote.-tants by severity, even to extermination. 

In the midst of these scenes of distress in the nation, Mary 
married lord Darnley, against the will of the protestants ; by 
hi;n she had a son, James VI. : soon after this event, Darn- 
ley died, by an explosion of gun powder. The flames of 
discord, by the imprudencies of M u-y, were again kindled in- 
to a civil war ; and Mary vvas constrained to fl'^e into England, 
pl:ice herself under the protection of her sister Elizabeth, ♦to^i?^ 
where by an order of Elizabeth, she was confined, and Ian- ^ ** 
guished in her prison, a subject of intrigue. ^^4t» 

During l\er confinement, Scotland was torn by the con- 
flicting interests of the catholics and protestants ; France 
became again the theatre of a religious civil war ; and the 
low connti ies were drenched in blood, to enforce the catholic 
league, and exterminate the hugunots or protestants. The 
illustrious queen Elizabeth, high raised on the protestant 
throne cfEngland, sat clothed in majesty, and held the bal- 
atices. Again under her auspicious influence, the protest- 
ants triumphed in France, and by a favorable peace, secured 
the ev'joymcnt of their principles. 

The queen of Scots, daring her confine:T'ent, had recourse 
to Charles iX. of France, and Philip II. of Spain ; but the 
distracted state of their ovvn dominions, left them no leisure 
to attend to her unhappy cause. The persecutions in the 
low countries, under the duke of Alva, a blood thirsty bigot 
of Pliiiio II. drove the seven provinces of Holland to unite in 
their own defence, raise the standard of rebellion, and assert 4^*5 
their independence of the crown of Spain. This opened a )^i 
severe and bloody contest : they applii-d to Elizabetii for 
aid ; again stie held the balances, severed the low countries 
from Spain and established their indepenj-lertce. Elizabeth 
also put an end to the catholic persecutions in Scotland, by 
giving up Mary to tlie executioner ; when the i[)rotestant8 
triumphed in Scotland. 

Not so in France ; the catholic league filled the heart of 
Charles IX ; he afTected to form a union with the catiiolics 
and protectants, by giving his sister in marriage to the young 
king of Navarre, and upon the grand celebration of the nup- 
tials in P.'ins, whei'e the protestants resort<^d upon the occa- 
sion, from all parts of France, he ordered a general massacre 



i^4' SPANISH ARMADA. 

to commence and extend throughout the kingdom. More 
than seventy thousnnt) protestnnts of every Rge, j^ex, and con- 
dition thro'ighout France, fell a sacrifice to this bloody edict. 
Aniidst the horrors of this distres^ring scene, the catiiolics 
were fi'led wifh rejoicings for the triumphs of the church 
miliiant upon the nDa^sacre of St. Barthoiomew. In the midst 
of thef^p. scenes, Charles died at twenty-forr year? of age, of 
a horrible disease, and was succeeded by Heiiry III. l.=»74. 



CHAP. XXV. 

Affain of the Reformation generally — Spanish Armada. ' 

These conflicts of the reformation in the west of Europe 
.^ave an entire change to the affjur- of Christendom', and pro- 
duced new, scenes and new theatres of action ; the spirit of 
commercial enterprise, also gave a new spring to the mind of 
man. 

The emperor Ferdinand, who succeeded Charles V. 1567, 
made one grand effort to unite the discords of religion in 
G«»rmany, by the council of Trent, 1561, which offered a 
degree of toleration upon the plan of tbe interim of Charles 
V. and was in like manner rejected by both parties ; the 
council was dissolved 1563, Ferdinand died 15b4, and was 
succeeded by Maximilian II. 

The ambition of Selim II. Sultan of Constantinople, in bis 
wars with the Venetians, and upon Hungary, gave full em- 
ployment to the reign of Maximilian. The mR^sacre of St. 
Bartholomew filled Europe with horror,.and France with re- 
venge. The barbarous and sanguinar\'^principles of popery 
greatly promoted the protectant cause, raised a civil war ; 
and Henry IJl. \)ut himself at the head of|he protfstants. 

In the midst of these scenes, Philip II. king of Spain, great- 
I}'' enriched by commerce and the mines of Mexico and Peru, 
and highly incensed against queen Elizabeth, as the protect- 
or of the protectants, prepared for the invasion of England, 
with the most formidable fleet then ever known, styled the 
invincible armada ; intending to tear from Elizabeth the bal- 
ances of Europe, hurl her from her throne, and, like Williaim 
of Normandy, wield the sceptre of England, and restore the 
rights of the holy see. 



DEATH OF ELIZABETH* 1?.5 

The armada put to sea, and appeared off the coaskof Eng- 
land, threw the nation into a state of constern;ition, and cal- 
Jed forth all the ninjesty and energies of Elizabeth, \\\\o hy a 
special act of heaven, was soon relieved i'vom her Kiarrn. , A 
violent tempest arose, which overvvhelmed the arnriada, di?- 
per*ed and dashed the i^hips against the rocl-^r?, and left the 
fui^itrves an ed^y prey to the ship,-; of Elizabeth, and at a blow 
her throne was secured ; which called forth froff^.the qne-'ii 
this memorable expression — '• Deus liavit di?;si|Kiiit^rr." 
(God blew and they are scattered.) Elizabeth at the nxme 
time narrowly escaped from the blackest conspiracy,, under 
Babbington. 

Henry the III. of France, at tlie head of the protestants, at 
the same time laid siege to his capital, then in the pi>wer of 
the catholic!?, where he vva:^ assus?iaated by a Doininicaa friar, 
and left his crown to the king of Navarre, Henry iV. (first of 
the Bourbons,) who pressed by the catholic league, had re- 
course to Elizabeth. She sent him aid, by the means of 
xvhich he held the catholics at bay ; in order to secnre tb.e 
tranquillity of his kingdom, he embraced the cUbolic religion, 
and published his famous edict of Nantz, \v!:ich 2;uaranteed 
t© the protestaats the quiet enjovrnent of their religion. 
Henry thus restored peace to hss thrc>ne in the mid>t of jeal- 
ousy, gave tranquillity to France and settled ■'^a peace Wkth 
Philip of Spain, 159^5. 

At this time died Philip 11. The war still raged with vio- 
lence in the low countries, which was closed by a truce for 
twelve years, between Philip lib and the United Provinces, 
1609. At the same tioie, Philip caused the Moors to be ex 
pelled from Spain, (ftiore than one million of hardy, indus 
trious inhabitants :) thi«, together with the loss of the arma- 
da, and the se.ven united provinces, with the pride and indo- 
lence arising from the greit influx of wealth from Tdexico 
and Peru, and the degrading effocLs of the inquisition upon 
the mind of man, humbled the {ui.'ie of Spain, and placed her 
in a degraded situation, from which she has never risen. 

liTimediately after the death of Philip II. died queen Eliza 
beth, 1601, and left her throne to James VI. of Scotland, ^on 
of Mary, whom she had beheaded in Englatid. James unit 
ed the kingdoms of Ena,land and Scotland ; and was the first 
king of B»itaia under the title of Jauie?'l. 

The reign of queen Elizabeth is above all comment 4 i: 



1S6 ' HENRY rV. 

Stands unrivalled in the annals of England, and of the v.orld, 
and opened the way for all that is valuable to the protestant 
cause. 

Henry IV. succeeded to a throne greatly impoverished, 
and almost ruined by the religious civil wars m France ; 
but his energy, talents, and ambition iitied him to fill it to 
advantasje : he quieted the feuds of France and made one 
great effort to quiet the feuds of the continent, by his plan 
of one great confederated republic, with France at its head. 

To effect tliis, he encouraged and promoted the protestant 
cause in Germany, and the low countries, but in the midst of 
his visionary plans, he fell a sacrifice to the dagger of a monk, 
in the streets of Paris, 1610, and was succeeded by Lewis 
XIII. then a minor. 

France, under the regency of the queen mother, fell again 
into all the scenes of discord and civil war ; and the conti- 
nent was now torn with the conflicts of tlse two great parties, 
known by the names of the evangelical union, and the catho- 
lic league. 

Germany in particular was one continued scene of civil 
war ; at tiie same time it was entangled in the wars of the 
Franks, through the reigns of Rodolph II. ar^d Iilattbias, down 
to the death of Philip III. of Spain, in 1624, who held his 
share, in these feuds, to augment his power in Italy. 

The United Provinces, notwithstanding the}- were torn 
with severe re1i2;ious feuds amongst the protestants thena- 
selvf's, immediately after the pacification of 1609 had now 
greatly extended their commerce in the east, taken Brazil in 
the west, and were the immediate commercial rivals of all 
the maritime states of Europe. 

France and Germany having long been di-tracted with re- 
ligious feuds, the parties prepared to settle all thr^ir disputes 
with the sword, upon the great theatre of Germany. 

A marriage took place at this time, between Charles I. then 
prince of Wales, and Henrietta, sister of Lewis Xlil. of 
France,, which produced the same consequences in England, 
as the marriage of Mary queen of Scots, with Francitj H. of 
France, had done in Scotland. 

Th.e war between the protestant union, and the catholic 
leasfue cOfrmenced about 1610, became general throughout 
Europe, called into action all the great talents of Europe, and 
Tvas the first general display of arms in Germaay. 



GUSTAYUS AB0LPHU8. J87 

Upon this grand theatre of action, flourished the great 
Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, in support of the evan- 
gelic union, and crowned with his death, the famous victory 
of Lutzen. 

Thij' triumph of Lntzt;n, was the triumph of the reforma- 
tion ; and the treat)' of Prague, 1635, guaranteed to the un- 
ion, from the court of Vienna, all the claims of the champions 
of the reformation : but tlie war still raged with France un- 
til the death of Lewis XIII. 1635, then under Lewis XIV. 
until the peace of Westphalia, 1648. 'i' his again contirmed 
to the union all former treaties, and gave them an uninter- 
rupted enjoyment of their religion, together with an ^^quai 
share in the grand councils of Germany, and broke the pow- 
er of the catholic league. 



CHAP. XXVI. 



Reformation continued — Great Britain under James L and 
Charles I. 

Upon the death of queen Elizabeth, we found James the I. 
son of tije unfortunate Mary queen of Sr.ot^ii, as the righttul 
heir ; and agreeably to vhe wishes of Elizabeth, and the two 
nations, upon the throne of England. James I. was great 
grandson of Margaret, eldest daughter of Henry VII. ; and 
upou the failure of the male line in the house of Tudor, he 
was the true heir, and commenced the dynasty of the house 
of Stuart : the change was easy and rej;^']lar. 

James '.vas courted by all the potentate's of Europe, and af- 
ter the defeat of the conspiracy in favour of his cousin, 
Arabella Stuart, enjoyed a tranquil throne, gave his whole 
attention to the sciences ; by his writings, he proved the 
pnpe to be antichrist, and modern Kome the whore of Ba- 
bylon. 

E'nboldened with cor'fi ience at these public sentiments of 
the king, the sect of puritan?, which had novv greatly increas- 
ed in England, ventured to approach the throne, with hopes 
of obtai;iing the abolition of episcopacy This bold step 
alarme:! tl.e king, and he returned this steady reply ; '• no 
bishop no king." 



iS8 JAMES r. AND 5C©TLAf?&. 

The puritans were ordered to conform. James declared 
himself the husband of one wife, destroyed the barriers of 
the frontier towns, and l>rou!::bt the tuo kingdoois together. 
These popular measurt^sof Janics, did not SiHisfj' the puritans, 
nor the catholics, and the latter consented to the diabolical 
scheme cf dest'-oyini? both king and parliainent at a blow, by 
agurpowd T plot, m 1605. 

Upon the detection of this jilot, a va^t quantity of p:un pow- 
der in barrels, wa? found concealed under the house of lords, 
the day b-ifore tne jsesr^ion of parliament, with one Fawkes, 
(« Fleming,) plsced as the sentirseland exacutioner, with his 
matcbes ready prepared. In this affi^ar were involved m iny 
catholics of the first di^■til:ctK>n ; vvhose conviction and ex- 
ecntioTi, spilt some of the best blood of the nation. The 
detection of this plot, and t\'.e lenity of James, secured '.is 
popularity, and absolved him from all suspicions of popery 
during his reign. 

James made great efforts to civilize the English, Scotch, 
and particularly the Irish ; and took more delight in the arts 
of peace, than of war. But by his weakness, hf di^lractad 
his reign, bestowng unmerited favors upon undeserving fa- 
voritis. To support Hiese, he offended the nation, by selling 
to the Dutch the c.nuiionary towns, pledged to queen Eliza- 
beth when she granted them support in their revolutionary 
struggle. 

Jame"^' next unpopular step was, to attempt to establish a 
uniformity of worship in Sc>u!and, as well as England, togeth- 
er with church discipline ; for this pufpose he visited his 
native country. * 

The nobility of Scotland were attached to the government 
of James, the people were under a certain degree of feudal 
vassalage, and of course s^laves ; but the kirk, or religion of 
Scotland, was free, independent, and of the presbyterian or- 
der, Thi« order exist d at thi.« time in Switzerlaiid, upon 
the plan of ZuipgliuH, and John Calvin, the great apostles of 
Switzerland. 

The first unpopular "stroke of James in Scotland was, to 
permit certian catholic lords, who had been banished Scot- 
land, to return to tie kingdom. This ht up a fire, he never 
could extinguj'?h. and raised an insnrrection which placed 
James at the me)'cy of a Koh in Edinburgh. This occasion- 
ed a convention of the st>tps of Scitbnd, where James ob- 
tained an acknGwledgmcnl of his supremacy over the eccies- 



CHARLES I. 189 

iastical afiliirs of Scotland, with the po'ver of settlins^the forms 
ot worship afid church discipline, wstl) the coiisent of the 
archhishops, bisiiops, and a competent nuuiber of ministers. 

This dangerous power was opposed by his parliament,* 
and relinquished by Jame? : but the next year he introduced 
some ceremonies, by tiie consent of the kirk. Ti'is kindled 
the fire in Scotland'; and the execution of Sir Walter Ra- 
leisibi the projector of ttie colonies in North America, stamp- 
ed an odium upon the reign of James which followed iiim to 
his grave. 

In addition to this, the match he was plannins: for his son 
Charles, the prince of Wales, with the Infanta of Spain, rous- 
ed the feelings and resentment of the nation, brouglit on a 
collision bet^.veen James and his parliament, and opened the 
controversy of privilege and prerogative, which had f')r its 
object to destroy the true balance of power in the government, 
by throwing too great a weight into the scale of Kjonarchy, 
under the claim of prerogative, or too great a weight into the 
scale of democracy under the claim of privilege. 

The Spanish match, after a most courteous interview of 
Charlos in Spain, with the Infanta, was closed by intrigues, 
which produced a war between England and Spain, and an al- 
liance was formed between Charles and tbe princess Henri- 
etta of France. Charles succeeded to the throne upon the 
death of his father, 1623. The attempts of James to lord it 
oyer the forms of religion in Scotland and Engl-ind, diove 
from his kingdom that little band of puritans, with their pious 
minister the Rev. John Robinson, who fled to America, and who 
vwll become the subject of notice in the American narrative. 

The duke of Buckingham, who had accompanied Charles 
to Spain, and had been the instrument of breaking oiT the 
Spanish ^atch, had thereby become very popular with the 
parliament. This increased the insolence of Buckingham, 
until he ruined Charles and himself, in the esteem of the na- 
tion, and paid for his f )liy and temerity by the knife of the 
assaS'sin, Charles endeavoured to save himself but it was now^ 
toolnte; the war of prerogative and privilege, between Charles 
and his parliament, had gone too far. Charles tried th-j expe- 
dient of dissolving his parliament ; hut this only fanned the 
fire ; the war against France in supp ^-rtof the Hugunots, h«d 
done the same, and even the fall ol the obnoxious Buckingharai 
had given no relief. The pa-sions of the parties .had sur- 
mounted their un,'!Hrstandi.:gs. and what was be^t for the na- 
tion, was now involved in the point, who should rule. The 



190 CHARLES I. 

qneen who was a catholic, and archbishop I^aiul, who was a 
haughty, violent prelate, had both great influence with Charlesj 
strv-Tii^thenedhis ob?tinate resolutiona, and iised his fate. 

A specimen of the religions principles, which were the ba- 
sis of all this national ?tr!)g2;!e, may be seen in the consecra- 
tion of the church of St. Catherine, near the borders of Scot- 
land. Archbishop Laud marched in procession with great 
pomp and solemnity, to perform the holy office of consecra- 
tion. When he approached the chnrch, a loud voice ex- 
claimed, " Open ! open ! ye everlasting doors ! and let the 
king of glory lu" — the doors flew open, the archbishop en- 
tered — fell on his knees, and exclaimed with exteRded arms, 
and uplifted eyes, " tlris place is holy, the ground is hoiy ; 
in the name of the father, h^on, and holy ghost, 1 prononncc.it 
holy." He approached the comm-inion table, and bowed, 
frf^quently towards it ; then marched in procession round 
the church, repeating the 100th psalm ; then said a f^rm of 
prayer, concluding with these words : " We consecrate this 
cli'Hch, and separate it unto thee as holy ground, not to be 
profsned any more to common uses ;" uttering im'precations 
on all who should profme that sanctuary, bowing towards 
tie east upon every imprecation, and exclaiming " Let all 
the people say amen." H^ then pronounced benedictions 
on all who should nu; f'-\ -jh:} enrich that church by their tem-- 
poral gifts ; a' s! "p> "i every Dene iiction bowing tov;ards the 
ea-t, excl.riTi. d : ' L-^t all the people say amen." Siich were 
the coi:r eii'.fp, nnd such the religion, which distracted the 
naHor, '.;d'-^r t'-e exterr.als of privilege and prerogative. 

In I -s stale of things, a change of ministry, even under a 
pri 1 :^p ido-'iiiistration, produced no change in the public 
fe \, ii. [be same mf^asures di-tracted both England and 
Sco<Jari(], the jnrisdiction of P esbj teries, Synod-, and oth- 
er ''emocratJc courts, was abolished, and the gener.d assembly 
hid f dlon ir to neglect f^r more tb m two year* ; all this kind- 
led the fire in t: e kirk of Scotl.nd, and an atte'npt w^s 
made to revive tiie coll'^i^e ofjostics leiween thv clorgy and 
1m y, as before i]\p ref- nnation. Ail classes of })eople took 
the alarm, and popery, ■' ^^ He sciieral c*y. 

When tiie dean of Edif>buri;h a'terrpted to introduce the 
liturgy into the cathedral of St. Giles, arrived in bis surplice 
' — " a pope ! a pope !" vociferated from all ydtta of the 
church ; and the tumult was so gre.'tasto reqoire t';e irjter- 
position of civil authority to protect the sen'ice. All these 



OLIVER CROMWELL. 191 

arts, led the Scots to unite in a solemn covenant, to resist the 
usurpations of the crown, and protect the kirk. 

This coalition of power, proved a barrier to the encroach- 
ments of Charles, called forth the best talents of the nation, 
and opened a civil war. The parliament of England co-ope- 
rated with the covenanters, and their vengeance fell first on 
the minister of Charles, the earl of Strafford ; who, after the 
most masterly and dignified defe/ice, was convicted of trea- 
son ; and in spite of all the efforts of Charles to savfe him, 
brought to the block. 

This sacrifice produced a momentary suspension of the 
evils ; but the tire soon began to rage, both in'England, Scot- 
land and Ireland, and produced from the English parliament 
the^famous remonj^trance, which was an app-^al to the people, 
although addressed to the king ; and was fully a manifesto, 
and a signal for the last extremity. The violence of the par- 
ties increased daily ; excess followed excess, and violence 
and extreme succeeded violence and extreme, until privilege 
swallowed uj) prerogative, the voice of the king was lost in 
the usurpations of parliament, a civil war raged, the king was 
overpowered and obliged to flee, archbishop Laud was ac- 
cused of high treason, and brought to the block, the king was 
taken, brought to London, imprisoned, tried, and executed. 
His death laid the foundation of the commonwealth, under 
the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. 



CHAP. XXVII. 



Great Britain under Oliver Cromwell — Charles IL— -France 
tinder Louis XIV. 

During the reign of Charles L the civil and religious lib- 
erty of the nation engrossed their whole^ attention ; their 
agriculture and commerce were neglected ; their foreio-n 
possessions languished : the Dutch seized on some of their 
most valuable spice islands ; and the affairs of the nation 
Tvere low. The triun»ph of liberty over tyramy, and the 
fidl of the tyrant, opened the way for Oliver Cromwell, as 
the popular ci.i.' f, to usurp the throne and give law to the 
nation, under the title of Lord High Protector. Under this 
title Cromwell ruled with imperial sway ; but the house of 



192 CHARLES If. 

lords had been abolished, and such was the spirit of liberty 
under the commonwealth, that Cromwfll with all his efforts 
and popularity could not restore it. Under this government 
they chastised their haughty, insolent, avaricious neighbors 
the Dutch, in several desperate, bloody, and decisive naval 
combats, extended their commerce, improved their agricul- 
ture, cultivated the arts, sciences and manufictnres, and op- 
ened the wiiy for the restoration of the monarchy under the 
splendid reign of Charles 11, 

Charles succeeded to the throne through the artful policy 
of general Monk, who relieved the nation from the feeble, 
imbecile reign of Richard, son of Oliver Cromwell, whose 
talents were far below tlie aflibition of the nation, and who 
reigned only seven months. Charle.>^ II. more intent on his 
own pleasures, and the gratiticati-ms of his courtiers, than the 
good of his people, suff red the commerce of the nation again 
to decline, and the Dutch to rival them in India. - 

The efforts to settle North Am nica were successful; and a 
foundation was laid in this reign, for the succeeding prosper- 
ous ente;-prise of the nation in the n«w world. 

That spirit ofthe reformation which had resisted the vio- 
lent measures of Charles I. and flourished so conspicuously 
under the commonwealth, was in its full strength in Scotland, 
at the accession of Charles II. and displayed its zeal and en- 
thusiasm, in large and frequent religious assemblies in the 
open field, called conventicles. 

Thnt liberty which always accompanies such zeal, Charles 
considered as incompatiMe with the dignity of his crown, and 
sent the earl of Lauderdale to check and suppress it. Again 
the spirit of the reformation was called to assert its liberties 
against the violent pleasures of the crown ; but not with the 
same success. The power of the crown prevailed, and 
through the extremes of violence, cruelty and severity, the 
spirits^of the enthusiast:* were humbled. If such things could 
be done in the green tree, what could not be done in the dry : 
if aprotestant administration could be guilty of such severity 
and cruelty, what might not be expected from popery. 

Whilst the nation were shocked with the severities of 
Charles, and distresses of Scotland, they were roused, as by 
a claji of thunder, by the alarm of the popish plot. This, 
whether a reality, or an artful finesse, is still doubtful : but at 
that time, as a serious reality, it excited strong appreheusions, 
nnd threw the naiion into the highest state of alarm, opened 



* LEWIS XI r. 1^3 

agaio the sharpest conflict betweea the king and his parlia- 
ment ; excited the same feelings in the nation 'as in the reign 
of Charles I. and nothing but the conciliatory address, and high 
popularity ofthe king could have prevented another civil war. 

The intrigues of France at this time, had apo*9erful influ- 
ence in the court of Charles ; he made the most of it, and by 
a money compact with the cabinet of Lewis XIV. became in- 
dependent of his parliament, assumed a dictatorial style, set 
them at defiance, humbled their refractory spirit, and tri- 
umphed in their submission. 

The doctrine of passive obedience, and non-resistance, 
became the order ofthe day, and was echoed from the desk 
and the bar through the nation. Charles enjoyed his succes- 
ses in triumph, deprived the city of London of its charter; 
the other cities tendered a voluntary resignation of theirs, 
and sealed the independence ofthe crown. 

These measures.excited the passions and indignation of the 
sons of liberty, and roused the resentment of the Kyehouse 
plot, (so called,) a plot destined to restore the commonwealth 
by another revolution. This was discovered, and in blood 
was laid the foundation of that pf.rmanent strength in the 
monarchy, which alone has supported it through all the suc- 
cessive struggles of the nation, and enabled it to triumph 
over that disorganizing spirit of liberty, which became so 
factious in the time of the French revolution. 

It placed in the power ofthe crown, (or ofthe mjnister,) 
the control ofthe borough elections, which constitutes three- 
fourths of the members of parliament, and thereby has, to this 
day, given the minister the control of that branch of the gov- 
ernment, and renc%ered the crown in a sens* despotic. Charles 
disclosed all the religion he had at his death, in partaking of 
the papal eucharist at the hands of a catholic priest. James 
duke of York and brother of Charles, succeeded to the 
throne. James was a violent catholic. - 

Thus we see how God has overruled the conflicting pas- 
sions of men, \^ this mighty struggle, ofthe reformation with 
popery, and liberty with tyranny, and placed the government 
and the church, exactly in that point, which have proved io 
this day, to be best adapted to the peace and prosperity of 
that nation, and the good ofthe world. To illustrate this re- 
mark, let us take a viejv of the gigantic power of Lewis XIV. 
king of France. Lewis XIV. succeeded Lewis XIII. 1643, 
in the midst ofthe reign of Charles I. During his minority, 

17 



194 LEWIS XIV. 

and under the regency of the queen and cardinal Mazarine, 
France was, like England, distracted with feuds. 

When L^wis took possession of the crown, he was the 
most sj^dendid, amhitious monarch that ever filled the throne 
of France. He cherished the discords in England, and at 
the same tin^e revived all the ancient claims of the crown 
under Charlemagne and erected the standard of conquest to 
reco\er them. 

Spain attempted to avail herself of the feuds in France, 
which arose out of the management of Mazarine ; but Lew is, 
united with Cromwell, the protector of the commonwealth 
of England, soon humbled Spain, and closed this war. The 
struggle for s^ipremncy upon the ocean, which began between 
England and tie seven United Provinces of Holltmd, in the 
reiirn of Charles I. still continued ; and England under Crom- 
well, g.'tined a decided superiority over the Dutch. 

Upon ttie accession of Charles 11. Lewis availed himself of 
this strife and engagf d England in his viev/R, to humble the 
Dsitcii, and add the low countries to France. For this purpose 
he assembled a most splendid military force, took the field in 
person, and entered Flinders at the head of his army. 

AttSe same time the combined fieets of France and Eng- 
land, an^o:;nted to one hundred ships. The United Provin- 
ces were thrown into the highest state of alarm ; they collect- 
rd their fleet to guard and protect their ports, inundated their 
cou'-try. sued for peace and offered the most flattering terms ; 
but all to no effect : their ruin was sealed by the vindictive 
ii-»alice of Charles, and the all conquering ambition of Lewis. 
The terms were rejected, and the war})ursued with vigor. 

This roused up the energies of the Dntc'"., who had by their 
efforts, rarijomrd their country from the ocean, and enrtched 
it by their commerce. They declared the prince of Or- 
ange, stadtholder, or chiof magist?-ate of the nation ; and pre- 
pared for d.-^fence. The throne of Williimt was secured by 
the violent death of the De Witts, and other opposers in Hol- 
land ; and he took the field in person. — The conflict on the 
ocran was desperate, and the confederates successful ; but 
the 'tadthoider triumphed over Lewis in the low countries, 
and he was compelled to abandon all his conqijests. 

Spain and Germany, by an alliance, supported the stadt- 
holder. The distracted state of England compelled Charles 
n. t) withdraw from the war and otfer his mediation. The 
war became a war of posts, and was attended with great dig- 



LEWIS XIY. 19# 

plays of tactics and valor. At this time Sweden became con- 
federate with France, and Charles II. a pensionary to Lewis, 
by a secret treaty. 

Lewis became formidable at sea, and successful against 
the combined fleets of Spain and Holland, in a splendid naval 
action on the coast of France ; this victory wjis sealed by the 
death of the gallant De Ruyter, the Datch admiral. The af- 
fairs of France again became prosperous, and Lewis was suc- 
cessfnl at all points, both against Holland and Spain. He tri- 
umphed over England, through the venality and corruption 
of Charles 11. ; triumphed over Spain, Holland and the em- 
pire, and laid the foundation for the future Sjdendor of his 
crown, by the possessions he retained in the low countries, 
at the peace of Nimeguen, in 1648. 



CHAP. XXVHL 

France continued — Europe generally — League of Augsburg — 
Remarks. 

Lewis XIV. notwithstanding the exhausted state of his 
treasury, still kept up his powerfil military forces, and with 
them, that passion for glory, and lust of ambition, with which 
ha commenced his reign, and which were the characteristic 
features of this haughty monarch. He assumed the dictato- 
rial style of Charlemagne, seized on Strasburg, and rendered 
it impregnable, by the talents of the famous Vaaban.' He 
began to flatter himself that all Europe would soon feel his 
sway, and that he should establish the ancient dominion. To 
this end, he distracted the empire of Germany with feuds, 
excited the Turks to war against them, to humble the house 
of Austria, which would have been ruined, had not the king 
of Poland interposed wiih a powerful army, compelled the 
Turks to raise the siege of Vienna, abandon their conquests 
in Germany and Hungary, return to their former limits, and 
settle a peace. 

Lewis embraced this favorable moment to extend his do- 
minions, by seizing on several important parts of the low 
countries, and settled a peace with Spain, the Emperor of 
Germany, and turned his whole attention to his fleets. 

At thisS critical moment, died the ilkistrious Colbert, prime 



196 LEAeUE OP AfGSBUR©. 

minister of Lewis, and whose sagacious mind, as a statesman, 
and financier, raised Lewis to the summit of his greatness. 
With the death of Colbert, fell the greatness of Lewis, and 
left his pride and ambition, like a ship in the midst of a tem- 
pest, without a pilot. 

Lewis revoked the memorable edict of Nantz ; that shield 
of the reformation under Henry IV. and pat forth all his ef- 
forts to establish popery upon the ruin and conversion of pro- 
testantism ; but without effect. This cruel artifice of priest- 
<&raft, butchery, and military executions, ruined the manufac- 
turing interest, which the immortal Colbert had promoted 
and encouraged amongst the protestants. One twentieth 
part of the whole number, fell a sacrifice to these barbarous 
and impolitic measures ; a price was set on the heads of the 
remainder, they were hunted like wild beasts of the forest, 
and forbidden, under penalty of death, to leave the kingdom. 

In the face of all this severity,' however, more than six 
hundred thousand protestants left the kingdom ; ruined the 
manufacturing interest of France, and transplanted it into the 
neighbouring kingdoms. This severity was not the result of 
submission to the Roman pontiff ; his haughty spirit led hiai 
toh«mble pope Innocent XL in the most humiliating manner, 
and triumph over all his excommunications. 

This cruel, and vindictive persecution against the reforma- 
tion, arose from the haughty imperious spirit of Lewis, and 
from the weakness of his uninformed mind. He soon felt 
the rashness of these measures. The protestants in Germa- 
ny, throughoat the empire, formed the famous league of 
Augsburg, to restrain the overbearing spirit of France. 

The emperor Leopold added Hungary to Austria, and pla- 
ced his son Joseph upon that throne, upon the suppression 
of the Turkish invasion, and was now ready to become party 
in the league of Augsburg, sgainst France. 

Thus in recapitulation we see how God makes use of his 
means, to effect his ends, and with what wisdom all his great 
purposes are accomplished. 

The art of printing had greatly facilitated the improvement 
of letters, and swept away that gross ignorance which had 
prevailed through the dark ages, (that nursery of bigotry and 
superstition ;) given expansion to the mind of man, and pre- 
pa-'ed the wny for the reception of those great and important 
tTuths the immortal Luther was destined to unfold. 

The excesses, corruptions and abase of powerj which at 



COPERNICUS, KEPLER, GALLlLEO. 



1^7 



this time had become notorious in the catholic church, led to 
a general iiiqniry Jimongst the learned, and better informed 
part ofsoci-'ty ; doubts began to arise with regard to many 
of the dogma? of the church, and the abuse of power in the 
sale of mduleencie? (which had now become notoriously cor- 
rupt) stagsrered th- faith of some, di.^gusted the feelings of 
otiiers, and shocked all common senre. 

The pen of Erasmus was pointed and severe, well calculat- 
ed <o excise doubts, and lead the public niind to pause, reflect 
and coasid r, whether all this was founded upon the author- 
ity of God. 

The wa«te of blood and treasure, which had so long ac- 
companied this despotic power, had fair'y opened the way 
for tne introduction of those truths, the immortal Lather was 
destined to unfold, and Germany was well prepared to be the 
great theatre ofactiim. 

Armed with the authority of God, Luther sto^d forth, the 
great champion oftruth ; unfo'dod, th-- pure princijdes of that 
gospel which bad been so lon:^ corrupted and abused : set at 
defiance that power which claimed and exercised the right of 
extirpating all opposition by force ; raised the public mind 
to resist th;it infallibility, they had now b^en led to doubt ; 
and by his lirmness, learning, and talcntr^, established the re- 
formation upon an immoveable basis. 

Gernany, which had siitfered uio^^t se\'erely from the des- 
potic powf*r of the popes through the dark ages, was now 
destined to become the light of the world, in religion, and in 
science. Luther stood fortii as the light of the gospel ; Co- 
pernicus, (of Thorn) unfolded the mysteries of the heavenly 
bodies, and taught the true doctrine of the solar system, and 
Kepler illustrated the true figure of their orbits : all these 
combined, gave such expansion to the mind, as led to a more 
general inquiry, opened the way to a more general and cor- 
rect understanding of the truth of religion, of nature, and of 
God. 

Italy at this time was favoured also with her Gallileo, 
whose inventive genius greatly improved the telescope, by 
which the systems of Copernicus and Kepler were cooiirmed, 
and the rotation of the sun upon its own axis, the satellites oi' 
the several planets, the phases of Venus, and the mountains 
in the moon were all discovered. 

All these great events combined, excited a general inquiry : 
this was increased, and strengthened by the persecutions of 
17 * 



-*&??;,*■ 



198 JAMES ff» 

the popes, who denounced the whole as one grfeat system oi 
absurdity, and heresy. The inqui«itiou of Italy, so late as 
1633. passed a decree, declaring the solar system of Coper- 
nicus expressly contrary to the holy scriptur*:s, false and 
absurd in sound philosophy, as well as erroneous in the 
faith ! 

These great luminaries of Germany, have diffused their 
light, as we have noticed, throughout the christian world, and 
have unfolded to men that great system of religious and liie- 
rarv truth which they now enjoy, and which, under their fu- 
ture improvements, they are destined to enjoy. 



CHAP. XXIX. 



England, and Europe generally from the accession of James IL 
to the 'rise of the order of the Jesuits, 

At this eventfjl period when the league of Augsburg had 
united the whole protestant cause of Europe, as one great 
family, to resi«t the overbearing power of that chastising 
rod, Lewis XIV. king of France, commenced the unhappy 
reign of James II. as successor of Charles 11 of Enghmd. 
His character as a papist, under the title of duke of York, 
had occasioned much warmth of feeling and expression, 
during the reign of Charles, and was yet remembered. 
Notvvithstanding his flattering assurances, he discoverevd the 
purposes of his heart, in his imperious speech to his parlia- 
ment. 

Conspiracy soon kindled into a flame, and raised an insur- 
rection in the nation. At this time he commenced a career 
of general favor and indulgence to papists, both in England 
and Ireland, and issued a declaration of gf^neral indulgence, 
or liberty of conscience, by his own absolute and arbitrary 
power ; sent an ambassador to Rome, in order to unite the 
crown of England agnin to the holy see ; gave a public au- 
dience to the pope's nuncio, and consecrated four popish 
bishop*! in the king's chapel ; permitted the monks to ap- 
pear at co'irt in their respective habits ; attempted to intro- 
duce Roman catholics into the church and universities ; en- 
deavored !o ^ain the protestant dissenters, and to form them 
into a upion with the cataolics, by ordering a new declaration 



WILLAM AND MARY. 199 

of indulgence, and causing it to be read in the pulpit by all 
the established clergy. 

The clergy resisted, and a general alarm was excited 
throughout the nation. They invited William, prince of Or- 
ange, (who had married Mary, daughter of James) to assume 
the government. He complied with the call of the nation, 
landed in England with a str-^ng naval and military force, 
amidst the popular commotions and struggles, seized ou the 
crown, and Jiimes fled to France. The Scotch submitted to 
the government of William ; he summoned a convention to 
settle the affairs of the nation ; who placed the crown upon 
William and Mary, by an instrument of settlement, which 
closed all the struggles of privilege and prerogative, and fix- 
ed the constitution upon a permanent basis. 

During these mighty struggles, episcopacy had been estab- 
lished in England and Scotland ; this occasioned at this time 
some division of sentiment, and some warmth of feeling ; but 
the presbytenan^, who composed the mass of the peopl* ia 
Scotland, favored and supported the throne of William and 
Mary. 

James, at the same titne sealed his own ruin by favoring a 
catholic insurrection in Ireland, and by the aid of Lewis XIV. 
actually embarking in France with a military force, and pla- 
eiijg himself at its head. This occasioned a warm conflict 
between the English and Irish parliaments, and excited a gen- 
eral alarm in the nation ; William declared vvar against Lew- 
is, and became a party in the league oi Augsburg. 

At this time the divisions in Scotland were settled by the 
sword, and the government of William quietly established. 
James met with a warm resistance from the protestants in 
Ireland, who were supported by William in person, who tri- 
umphed over James, defeated and destroyed his army, that 
he fled aj^ain to France : the insurrection was soon quelled, 
and all Irelxnd siibmitted to the government of William. 

The spirit of faction was not yet quelled in England ; the 
fire of the parties soon revived, appeared in parliamentary 
feuds, and was kindled into a blaze by the rashness of Will- 
iam, at the massacre of Glencoe, jn Scoth<nd. This excited a 
general alarm, which roused up the nation to a spirit of oppo- 
sition and gratifird the spirit of Lewis XIV. king of France — 
he immediately furnished James with a powerful naval and 
military force, who put himself at their head to invade Eng- 



200 LEWIS xrv. 

land, and recover the crovvn ; but a decisive acfion gained at 
this critical moment over the French fl.^et by the English, 
checked tiie expedition closed all the fufure prospects of 
James, and after a fe-v more feuds in England, settled and 
established the government of William, and rendered the re- 
formation again triumphant in England. 

The league of Augsburg had now called forth all the efforts 
of Christendom, to liumbls the haughty, overbearing spirit of 
Lewis, and roused him up, like a lion of the forest, to take 
vengeance on his enemies. He cherished his alliance with 
the Turks to make a diversion in H'lngary ; as.sembl^d an 
army of four hundred thousand men, and entered Germany 
and the low countries, with various success ; at the same 
time the fleet of Lewis gained a signal victory over the Eng- 
lish and Dutch. 

Lewis took the field in person, and appeared with great 
splendor in Flanders ; the war became geuc-ral, and rag'd in 
Hungary, Germany, Flanders, Spain and Italy. Europe had 
never before witnessed such splendid armies, under such 
splendid captains, together with such displays of valor and 
military tactics. Mathematics, as applied to the art of gun- 
nery and fortification, at this period, attained their highest 
perfection under the talents of a Vauban. The war became 
generally a war of posts, and raged with various success from 
1688, to the peace of Ryswick, with France, 16^8, and of 
Carlowits with the Turks, 1699. 

This war gave a general triumph to the reff>rmation over 
popery, leagued with the infidels, and greatly ficilitated the 
progress of the arts and sciences ; gave a new polish and lus- 
tre to military tactics, and a new splendor to society in Eu- 
rope. The good effects of the reformation were generally 
felt, and acknowledged, throughout Christendom ; this exci- 
ted a general spirit of i.Tquiry and learning amongst the cath- 
olic clergy, and a general improvement in their morals. 

This ecclesiastical spirit of science and morals was greatly 
improved by a new monastic order which sprang up at this 
time, styled the order of the Jesviits, from the frequent use 
they made of the name of Jesu. This order became the im- 
mfdiate champions of the pontiff;? — they became the confes- 
sors of all the: catholic monarchs of Christendom, and by that 
means the organs of intelligence to their masters the popes, 
and rendered the chair of St. Peter the repository of all the 
intrigues of Europe^ 



REFINEMENT OF MANNERS. ^01 

They also served as ambassadors to the popes in all foreign 
;0urts, and thus the organs of the secrets of all the courts in 
he world. The zeal, intrigue, and corruption of this order 
caused its ruin in the eighteenth century. That general im- 
3rovement of manners, literature, taste and refinement, which 
jegan to dawn in Europe in the distinguished reigns of 
::;harles V. of Spain and Germany, Francis I. of France, and 
tienryVIlI. of England, received'a polish in this war, which 
rvith the commencement of the eighteentii century, couimen- 
:ed a new order of things in Europe. 



CHAP. XXX. 



.iff airs of Europe generally — northern confederacy — capture 
of Gibraltar by the English. 

From the time that Francis I. of Frnnce introduced the 
ladies at court, (about the mid lie of the sev-^.»toenth century) 
;hedr;imaof life in Europe ha* experienced an entire change 5 
ferocity has given place to urhanity, JiuA ba'-b-iris.ii to refine- 
onent. Although a ijeneral corruption of mor;»N grew out of 
this, in its early stages. vvi«ich soov) was r< fin< d iuto an ele- 
gant seiisuahty, and nr:xtinto a poli:»hed system of gallatitry, 
and ro nantic effemiDacy ; it was the means of givitig high 
poli-ih to the reign of Lewi*.XiV. 

In this splendid reign, the sword in single combyt (which 
was also sanction* d by the former * xampl*:* of Fiancis I.) 
gave a check to ostentation, pride and ha^igi.teur, protected 
the characters and virtues of t!ie fair sex, and untied with 
their example had a commanding influence, in forming.the 
manner* of the times. 

All that splendid t-i-te in the fine arts, and all that classical 
elegance, which had been revived in Italy a century before, 
were now transpl inted ii.to France, and flouris'hed in the 
rei^n of Lewi^ XIV. The spirit of the r'ifovmation had 
given expansion t.» ihe mind of man ; suppressed the over- 
bearing ignorance and bigotry of the catholic ilomination ; 
awakened freedom of tr*ought, and freedom of speech, and 
diff*:sed a gereral spirit 'of toleration throughont Christen- 
dom, accompanied with a general influence on goverrment 
and cianners ; these combmed, paved the way for that liber- 



202 FARTITION TREATY. 

ty, literature and science, which has come down to us, and 
which we so richly enjoy. 

Itnmedi.itelv after the peace of Ryswick, the declining 
health of Charles II. of Spain, opened a new field of intrigue 
amongst the competitors for the crown, and kindled, a new 
flame in Europe. These competitors v.'ere no less than Lew- 
is XIV. the emperor Leopold the I. of Germany, and the 
elector of Bavaria. Their claims of consanguinity, were 
nearly equal, and the general interest, and tranquillity of 
Europe, required the succession of the elector of Bavaria, 
because it would produce the least eifects on the balance of 
power. The intrigues of the competitors ran high ; all 
Europe took a lively interest in the struggle ; "the Spanish 
nation favored the lineal succession of the houae of Bourbon, 
but the qaeen, who was a German princess, favored the em- 
peror Leopold. 

During tiiis couflict of intrigue, a treaty of partition was 
fraiaed in the most secret manner, between England, Trance, 
and Holland, to divhle tbe kingdom and provinces of Spain, 
amongst tbe roi;^^'^ ; ;g parties, upon the demise of Charles. 
The secrets oi" this treaty soon reached the ears -of Charles, 
and firsd hiru. like a shock of eiectricity, with indignation 
and icsent.i.?nt. He summoned an extraordinary council, 
made his vvill, conve>ed the succession to the elector ot Ba- 
va.ia. and recovered his Kealth. The sudden death of the. 
elect.-r, <i"f'jr\ted the will, and renewed the treaty of partition, 
upon an e'^tire new p!::,n. By this treaty it was stipulated, 
ti!a> ' o d tuprJn, or king of France, should ever wear the 
cr'M.VM of .'rpair. 

D'v.i ;>>: this struggle of intrigue in the »50uth of Europe, a 
new dr;ur\i c mroenced in the north, under the reigr^s of 
F'%'(l-^ric, Kir'i; of Don-Tiark ; Charles XII. king of Sweden ; 
Auvtis'ti.:, eic'ctt^r cf -axony, and king of Poland ; and Peter 
the [, ernpvror of Rissia. The improvements of the north, 
had I'lia doruiant, in a great measure, with their long traa- 
qniiiify, and had not kept pace with the refinements of the 
f utii ; uniil tr.is splendid consteiKition arose, and diffused its 
lu:tre over ti^.t se rfegio;iS. 

I shall pass over however, the migl)ty conflict which en- 
sued amongst these sovproigns, and treat of it at large, in 
the third part of this uork, and cor.tinue the affairs of the 
south. TLe sudden death of the elo-^tor of Ba^'aria, gave a 
new turn to the afliairs ot Spain, and placed Charles II. in a 



CRAND ALLIANCE. 203 

levv dilemma ; he took the dernier resort, and appealed to 
he pope for counsel. 

Hie holiness, dreading the power of Austria, at once advised 
lira to bestow the crown of Spain upon the family of Bourbon : 
his advice was positive, and positively obeyed. Charles, by a 
private will, annulled his former will, and conveyed the crown 
)f Spain to the duke of Anjou, second son of the dauphin. 

Duringthese intrigues, Charles died, the will was disclosed 
— LewisXIV, at once accepted, and placed his grandson up- 
>n the throne of Spain, under the title of Philip the V. then a 
ninor, andpreparedtosnpporthim. This accession ofstrength 
the house of Bourbon, already considered too powerful 
or the peace of Europe, and during the alarming reign of 
!jewis XIV. was considered as incompatible with the interest 
md safety of every free state. It roused all the potentates 
n the south to the protection of the common cause, and pro- 
luced the grand alliance (so called) in 1701, signed by the 
)lenipotentiaries of the emperor of Germany, the king of 
i^ngland, and the states' general, of the United Provinces. 

The grand object of this league was to counteract the suc- 
;es?ion of the house of Bourbon to the crotvn of Spain ; and 
ibtain a general security for the balanco of power, and the 
)eace of Europe ; with a reserve, that Englaud and Holland 
night retain all their conquests in both the Indies. The op- 
irations of the grand confederacy in the north against Swe- 
len had already commenced, and were now in their full op- 
iration. 

At this eventful period, James II. who had taken refuge in 
■"ranee, died, and Louis had the temerity to acknowledge the 
on of James, as king of Great-Britain and Ireland, under the 
itie of James 111. This struck the fatal blow to the peace 
f Europe ; William resented the indignity, and prepared 
or action, and the grand confederacy prepared to co-oper- 
te. Lewis, sensible of his error, attempted to palliate the 
low by an apology. The parliament of England passed a 
lill of attainder against the young prince, James HI. and 
irepared to support the dignity of the crown. 

At this critical juncture, William was thrown from his 
;orse, and received a contusion which occasioned his death ; 
e was quietly succeeded by queen Anne, eldest surviving 
augiiter of James II. 1702. She entered with spirit into 
he'measures of W^illiam, in support of the grand alliance, and 
Toparpd for action. 

Lord Godolphin was placed at the head of the treasury, 



204 GENERAL WAR. 

and the earl of Marlborough at the head of the armies ; war 
was declared against France in London, the Hague and Vien- 
na at the same time. The protection of the general -safety, 
rendered a union of interest more permanent and formidable 
in this compact, than in any that Europe had ever witnessed ; 
and although Lewis was apparently strengthened by the un- 
ion of the crowns of France and Spain, in his own family : it 
proved the reverse, and Spain was only a burthen on his 
hands, to be protected at home and abroad. 

The gold of America was the only advantage that resulted 
to him — and this, the exhausted state of his treasury very 
much required. The earl of Marlborough took the field in 
Flanders, as commander in chief; he soon acquired the title 
of duke, and his exploits gave a lustre to the arms of the 
confederates. 

The successes of the first campaign, led the duke of Savoy, 
and the king of Portugal, to join the confederates. 1703 ; al- 
though the duke was of the house of Bourbon, grandson of 
Lewis XIII. and father-in-law to Philip V. the young king of 
Spain. This union o-f the duke with the allies, was consider- 
ed by Lewis as the ruin of his cause. All Europe, from 
north to south was the theatre of a general war, and di- 
vided into two great parties. In the south under the grand 
alliance, the war raged in Flanders, in Bavaria, in Spain, in 
Italy, and upon the ocean. 

An insurrection broke out in Hungary, which penetrated 
to the gates of Vienna, and threatened the ruin of the house 
of Austria. Feuds sprang up in Scotland, founded on their 
resentment against king William for neglecting the Scotch 
settlement upon the isthmus of Darien during his reign, 
which endangered the peace of England, by the sharp con- 
test between whig and tcry factions. 

The war raged in 1704 with various success by sea aad 
land ; but the conquest of Gibraltar was a most valuable ac-A 
quif^ition to the English. This year the emperor Leopold 
died, ai.d was succeeded bv his son Joseph, who entered 
warnrdy into the measures of the alliance. 

In 1705 the French were succpfsfnl in Italy, the con- 
federates in Spain. The vvar raH;ed in Germanny and 
Flanders with various succfss, but not,.!i;i- derisive. In 
1706 the confederate? were snccessful, under the illus- 
trious Marlbor*iUS[h in Flanders, and in Spain, under prince 
Charles, who entered Madrid, and was then crowned king of 



CjJ^'FEDERAtES SUCCESBKUiL. SO'^ 

%)ain under the title of Charles III. ; but was soon compel- 
lecl to retire. 

The English took the islands of Majorca and Ivica. Lew- 
is XIV. under this pressure of his alTairs, h?d recourse to -he 
kinj; of Sweden, Charles XII. then in his successful career in 
Poland and Saxony — but without effect : Charles had set his 
face for Moscoa^. 

Lewis, upon this failure, sued for peace ; but without ef- 
fect — the confederates resolved, " that no peace shall be 
made with the house of Bourboun, so long as a prince of that 
house is on the tlirone of Spain." The successes of England 
in Flanders, the conquest of Gibraltar, and the isles of the 
Mediterranean, gave strength to the crown, and confirmed 
that union ot'Eogland and Scotland, which has since proved 
so salutary to the two kingdoms. The splendor of the duke 
of Marlborough in Flanders, of prince Eugene in Italy, and 
the arch duke Charles in Spain, gave strength and s|«irit to 
"the confederates this year, and humbled the pride of Lewis. 



CHAP. XXXL 

General Affairs of Europe, to the death of Lewis XIV. and 
the stqtpressicn of the insurrection in Scotland — Rc?narlis. 

The exhausted treasury of Lewis XIV. compelled him (• 
desparate measures ; he ordered bills to be drawn upon his 
mint, and resolutely prepan d for action ; the confederates 
were triumphant in Italy, and the French abarsdoned th.eir 
conquests by a convention— the French were victorious how*- 
ever in Spain, at the battle of Almanzar, and the prospects 
of Philip V. stood high. 

In 1707 prince Eugene and (be duke of Savoy penetrated 
into France, laid seige to Toulon, and failed ; this with the 
successes in Spain, and feuils which sprang up in the coun- 
cils of England, revived the hopes and sririls of Lewis ; but 
the success of the confederates in Flanders and Italy, and the 
suppression of the feuds in the English cabinet, ti^gether witk 
the capture of Sardinia and Minorca, by the English, joined 
to the low state of his funds, prf ssed Louis m I 708 to make 
f.ilvantageous overtures of peace to (he confederateB. Tbese 



200 WAR CONTINUED. 

they haughtily rejected, and pushed the war in 1709 with re- 
newed vigor and success in Flanders- 

Louis again pressed his overtures for peace, and the next 
year conferences were appointed at Gertruydenburg, Lewis 
made concessions at this conference which were humiliating 
to him, and served to flatter the j)ride, aBd raise the spirits, 
as well as the demands of the confederates : they rejected 
the overtures, broke off the conferences, and took the field, 
with renewed success, in Flanders. Churles IIL entereii 
Madrid at the head of his victorious army ; but was soon com- 
pelled to restore it to Philip V. ; and the war in Spain raged 
with various success. 

At this time a new feud sprang up in the councils of Eng- 
land, and divided the champions of the nation ; Godolphin 
and Marlborou2;h, began to decline. The tories cried out 
danger to cliurch and state, and the pulpit echoed the cry. 
This produced a change in the ministry ; Marlborough sup- 
ported his popularity ; but Godolphin was succeeded in the 
treasury by Harly, earl of Oxford. This feud again revived 
the claims of the pretender, and Godolphin espoused his 
eause ; but the tories triumphed in a new piirliamaut, 1710 
This year the arch duke Charles succeeded lo the imperial 
throne, upon the death of the emperor Joseph, which gave 
aome check to the bold plans of th^ duke of Marlborough. 
The parliament of England voted liberal supplies, and the 
war was pushed with vigor- The feuds in parliament called 
forth the best talents of the nation ; a dignified speech from 
the queen, would have quieted, aod united the councils of the 
nation, had not tlie influence of Marlborough produced an 
overheated zeal in the house of lords, and effected a secret 
treaty between England and France, which how^ever destroy- 
ed his po[)ularity and command. 

The treaty fired the parties of England, with warmth and 
bitterness — it was not contended by the whigs, that Spaia 
could have been conquered at that time, and Charles HI. 
placed upon the throne <^f Philip V. by the sword ; but they 
did contend, that under the existing stale of the armies, to- 
gether with the low state of the finances of Lewis, the con- 
federates under Marlborough in Flanders, might, in one more 
campaign, have fienet rated to Paris, and compelled Lewis to 
depose his grand-son, Philip V. and place the arch duke upon 
the throne of Spain, and also have established a barrier on the 
north, which would have efiectualiy humbled the house of 
Bourbon. 



PEACE OP UTRECHT. 207 

These truths the whigs in England realized, these truths 
the confederates ^11 realized, and were severely mortified at 
their disappointment. They made great efforts, by the aid 
of prince Eugene, (who was invited by the whigs over into 
England for that purpose,) to renew the confederacy, and 
])rosecute the \\ar, but to no effect : the tories were estab- 
lished, and the councils firm ; and conferences for a general 
peace were opened at Utreclit. 

The successive deaths of several of the princes of France, 
at this time, increased the apprehension, lest the crowns of 
France and Spain should be united in one head, upon the 
death of Lewis ; and called forth all the energies of the con- 
tracting parties, to guard against this, b^^ positive stipulation : 
which was, ultimately, though reluctantly, complied with, by 
Lewis, and he guaranteed the renunciation of his grandson, 
Philip V. to all claims upon the crown of France. This pro- 
duced a secret cessation of arms ou the part of England, 
which separated the English forces from the confederacy, and 
an open avowal of the treaty ensued. 

The Dutch, the duke of Savoy, and the kings of Portugal 
and Spain, followed the example of the English ; and the 
emperor being left alone in the war, a general peace was con- 
cluded at Utrecht, and the storm of war once more hushed 
in the south, 1713. The parties ran high at this time, in Eng- 
land ; it became uow^ well understood, that not only Godol- 
phin, the ex-minister, but the duke of Marlborough himself, 
secretly favored the cause of the pretender ; and that great 
etibrts were made to induce his sister, the queen, to provide 
for his restoration. 

James III. was a violent catholic, and as obstinately so as 
his father : this rouse<l all the fears of the protestants, and 
when united with the feuds produced at the peace, distracted 
the nation. 

A party, called Jacobites, were actually engaged to restore 
4he pretender: this called forth in 1714 a vote of parliament, 
of one hundred thousand j)ounds, to whoever should ap[)rehend 
him in Great Britain. During the violence of these meas- 
ures, Queen Anne died, and was succeeded by George L 
elector of Hanover : who placed the whigs at the head of the 
administration, commenced a general inquiry into the state 
of the nation, and the negotiations of the peace of Utrecht, 
as the surest means of quieting the parties, and establishing 
fcjs throne. 



^08 VEATH OF LEWIS XIV. 

In the midst of these scenes, died Lewis XIV. king ©f 
France, who was succeeded by Lewis XV. tiiea a minor ; and 
the government of France fell under the regency of the duke 
of Orleans, 1715. He espoused the cause of James lU. (the 
pretender,) and secretly co-operated with the Jacobites in 
England and Scotland, to effect his restoraticf^. Great pre- 
parations were made this year, for the reception of James III. 
in England ; and the Jacobites invited him to land at Plym- 
outh. A general insurrection took place in Scotland, and 
these hardy sons of the mountains, who boasted that they 
never had been conquered, tendered their services to James, 
in support of his claims to the crown of England. 

This formidable conspiracy in England and Scotland, cal- 
led forth the energies of George ; and the kingdoms of Eng- 
land and Scotland, were again torn with the distresses of a 
oivil war. The pretender landed in Scotland : again the prot- 
estant cause was triumphant- — that God who rides on the 
whirlwind and directs the storm, appeared in support of the 
reformation. The struggle was short; the fatal battle of 
SBerriifmuir decided the fate of the preiender, and his popish 
oause forever in England; his partisans dispersed, and he fled 
to France. A few executions suppressed the rebellion, re- 
stored the tranquility of the nation, and established the throne. 

The conflicting passions, which had harassed, and distres- 
ed Europe, in the south, during the long and ambitious reign 
of Lewis XIV. were once more iiushed into a general calm. 
The exhausted state of finances, throughout these kingdoms, 
rendered a general peace not only necessary ; but actually 
forbade the renewal of hostilities. 

France was content to secure her ancient limits, with the 
acquisition of the crown of Spain, to a branch of the house of 
Bourbon. England had secured a protestant succession, and 
the union of Scotland ; but (he emperor of Germany had ob- 
tained no adequate compensation for Ihe blood and treasure 
expended in the war, excepting the miion of Hungary, with 
the house of Austria. 

At the close of the last war, by the peace of Ryswisk, we 
turned our attention slightly, to the general improvement of 
manners, literature and the arts, since the reigns of Charles 
V. Francis I. and Henry VIII. in the middle of the sixteenth 
century : let us now take a view" of the changes, which the 
long reign of Lewis XIV. produced, in the relative couneG* 
tlon of the kingdoms in the south of JJurope. 



BALANCE OP POWER. 209 

I'he high claims and pretensions, which marked the com- 
mencemelit of the reign of this haughty, overbearing mon- 
arch, called up the general attention of the nations to their 
common safety, and led them to enquire into the principles of 
their common interest and security. These principles led 
Spain, Italy, Germany, England and Holland to suspend their 
private interests and views, together with their private piques, 
and objects of ambition, and form one grand confederacy, to 
check the high menacing ambition of France. The success- 
es of this coalition were displayed in the peace of Ryswick. 

When the intrigues of Lewis to accomplish the union of 
the crowns of France and Spain, upon the death of Charles 
II. again threatened to commit the peace of Europe, and de- 
stroy ti-e general interest, which the peace of R}&wick had 
secured — again the southern kingdoms coalesced, tirst under 
the triple alliance, and then generally ; hunjbled the gigantic 
power of France, reduced her to the last extremity, severed 
the union then contemplated, by express stipulation ; and the 
treaty of Utrecht, guaranteed to Europe a balance of power, 
which remained undisturbed down to the French revolution. 

Thus we see, how from the private quarrels of individuals 
in the early ages, of neighboring chiefs, of neighboring and ri- 
val cities, of neighboring states, or kingdoms, either separate- 
ly, or with private alliances to promote, or check ambition, 
the nations of Europe have become one great family, with 
separate views ; but one great union of interest, founded up- 
on that balance of (jower, which they have effected by their 
great coalitions, and which has l;ecome inseperahly interwo- 
ven, not only with the general safety and trajtquiility, but 
with their very existence, as independent states and sove- 
reignties. 



CHAP. XXXII. 

Europe, from the coimnencement of the quadruple alliance, ta 
the accession of Francis I. of Austria. 

When the mighty struggle of ambition which called forth 
the triplt^ alliance, and in successit^i involved all the south of 
Europe in a distressini? and eventful war, to [.revtnt the un- 
ion of the crowns of France and Spain, in the house of Boar- 
18* 



^iO QUADRUPLE ALLIANCE. 

bon had been so successfully closed ; when Lewis XIV. the 
author of this mighty struggle, had guaranteed an eternal 
exclusion, to the union of the two crowns in the house of 
Bourbon, in order to restore that tranquillity which his ambi- 
tion had disturbed, by exciting a war which he could no long- 
er maintain, and to guarantee to his grandson Philip V. the 
quiet possession of the crown of Spain : when Philip had 
voluntarily sanctioned the measures of Lewis, his graudfath 
er, and was quietly enjoying all that he possessed, or could 
in honor or justice claim : when all the contracting parties 
were contentedly enjoying that quiet, which the great inter- 
est of Europe recjuired and demanded, after so long and ardu- 
ous struggles as she experienced, during the long reign of 
Lewis XIV : it was to have been expected, that a repose so 
desirable, might have been continued. 

What shall we say, when we announce, that the same gpir» 
it of ambition which tired the breast of Lewis, inflamed the 
heart of Philip V. and led him to light again the torch of war, 
by his intrigues to obtain the regency of France, during the 
minority of Lewis XV. and thereby secure the union of the 
two crowns of France and Spain. Although the conspira* 
tors were discovered in the house of Bourbon, and duly pun- 
ished, and the duke of Orleans more tirmly established in the 
regency ; the powers of Europe resented this outrage, and 
England, France, Holland and Germany, under the quadru- 
ple alliance, (so called) declared war against Spain, in 1718. 

The French invaded Spain on the northern frontier : the 
English triumphed over the Spanish fleet, and took the isl- 
ands of Sicily and Sardinia : Philip complied with the terms 
prescribed, disgraced his minister, and sued for peace 

At this time, the famous Mississippi scheme appeared in 
France, and through the infatuating spirit of John Law, ruin- 
ed their system of finance, and spread distress through the 
nation. The same spirit spread into England, and blew up 
what was called the south sea bubble, and produced the same 
effects upon the funds, and upon the nation, as the scheme of 
Law had produced in France. These damped the spirit for 
war in the two nations ; the operations of the alliance lan- 
guished; the death of the duke of Orleans in the year 1723, 
paved the way for peace by the treaties of Vienna and Han- 
over, 1725 J which was finally settled by the peace of Sevillei 
in .172 7. 



GENEEAL PEACE". 211 

While these negotiations werp pending, died George I, 
who was succeeded Uy his son George 11. Under this suc- 
cession, parties ran high in England ; corruption, jeakiusy 
and strife, distracted the councils of the nation. During 
these struggles in England, died Augustus, king of Poland, 
1733; and Lewis XV. of France, now on the ihrone enga- 
ged with Spain and Sardinia, in a war against the Emperor 
of Germany, to recover the crown of Poland for his father in 
law, Stanislaus Leckzinski, who once held it under the favor 
and protection of Charles XU. king of Sweden, by usurpa- 
tion and had fallen, and fled to France upon tiie restoration 
of Augustus. The French invaded Germany and Italy, with 
such success, that the emperor sued for peace. Lewis relin- 
quished his claims on the crown of Poland, snd obtained for 
Stanislaus the dutchy of Lorrain, with its cession to Fraace, 
upon the death of Stanislaus, and peace was concluded ia 
1736. 

During the distressing wars in Europe, for the last century, 
the commerce, and colonial possessions of England, Fraace, 
Spniuand Holland, rapidly progressed in Nortn, and South 
Amf^rica, and both the Indies, and became the source of the 
wealth, by which these powers wt^re enabled to equip such 
vast fleets, and raise and support such vast armies. 

Although war was the means of increasing and prolonging 
the distresses of the nations, it became the instrument of en- 
couraging and promoting the arts and sciences, of satteuing 
and polishing their ferocity of manners, of disseminating the 
principles of toleration in religion, and thereby establishing 
the reformation upon a more permanent basis. 

During this period of commercial spirit an;l enterprise, the 
strife, and conflicting interests of England and Spam, led 
them into a commercial war, in 1739. This war became a 
war of plunder : The English exerted all their force to aug- 
ment their maritime strength ; to plunder and rifle the 
Spanish commerce, particularly those ships laden with the 
treasures of Peru. 

They seized on the most wealthy commercial ports of 
Spain, in South America, and under various successes, were 
enriched with the spoils of war ; particularly by the capture 
3f a Sj)anish galleon, off the coast of Chili, in 1744 by lord 
Anson who traversed the great Pacific with his prize, visited 
[ndia, returned to England by the way of the cajje of Good 
Hope, landed his treasure in England, where it was carried in 
;reat triumph, and deposited in the tower. 



^12 MARIA THERESA. 

At the commencement hf this war, died the last prince of 
the house of Austria, Ch.irles VI This, death opened a new 
field for the' powers of Eirape. The treaty of Seville, which 
closed the war of the qu jdruple alliance against Spain — con- 
templating the exposed siludtion of the house of Austria, and 
anticipating the chams that would commence upon the decith 
of the em;)eror, Char.es VI. guaranteed by a general confed- 
eration, the right of succession to Maria Theresa, eldest 
daughter of C hales VI. and then wife of Francis, duke of 
Lorrain. Maria Tiveresa was acknowledged by all the states 
of Austria, and soon became extremely popular. 

At this time a secret league took place, between Lewis 
XV. Frederic HI. king of Pmssia, and the elector of Bavaria, 
to divide the Austrian dominions. The king of Prussia opened 
the war upon Silesia, and soon placed his standard on the 
walls of Breslaw, the capital. The forces ot France entered 
Germaajs formed a junction with the elector, in Bavaria, und 
penetrated to Vienna. The empress retired to Presburg, in 
Hungary, where, by her artful address, she roused up the zeal 
and spirit of the nation, under old count Paify, who s(?on ap- 
peared for the relief of Vienna.* The allies did not wait his 
approach, but filed oif into Bohemia, invested, and took, 
Prague, and crowned the elector of Bavaria king of Bohemia ; 
from thence he proceeded to Fran!' fort, and was crowned em- 
peror, under the title ofOh^rles Vli, 1742. 

The gigantic strides of France, the dangerous state of Aus- 
tria, and general interest of Germany, that engrossed the at- 
tention of George I. together with the good eifects which re- 
sulted to the allies from i he connection between England and 
Austria, in humbling the jride of Lewis Xl V. induced George 
II. to espouse with warmth and zeal, the cause of Maria 
Theresa. 

George carried with him the spirit of his people : he de- 

* This address of the empress is worthy of record. When the em- 
press had assembled the stiites of Hui^g-ary, she appeared at tlieir head, 
and bearing her eldest, and her infant son in her arms, thus addressed 
them : " Abandoned by my friends, persecuted by my enemies, and 
attacked by my nearest relations, ( have no resoiu-ce left, but in your 
fidelity and valor. On yon alone, I depend for relief ; and into your 
hands I commit the son of your sovereign, and my jest cause." F;. ed 
•with indignation and rage, they drew their swords, and with tears of 
zeal and compassion, they- exclaimed : " We will die for our kiiu^V 
The nobility were instantly in arms, and at the head of thirty thousand 
nie«. 



TREATY OP WORMS. 21,3 

posed his opposin;; ministry; fiH^d their places with such as 
were ready to second his views ; his parliament liberally 
grante<l supplies, and George assembled an army in Flanders 
of 36,000 men ; the Austrians penetrated into Bavaria, and 
took Munich. 

At this critical moment, the court of France were struck^ 
as with a clap of thunder, by the tidings of the treaty of Bres- 
law , and peace between Prussia and Austria. 

The allies were closely invested in Prague, and their fate 
considered as desperate. The French, on the Rhine, made an 
effort to relieve Prague, but it failed : the duke De Belleisle, 
however by an artful movement, stole a march upon the be- 
siegers, abandoned Prague, and led back his army, with ali 
his baggage and artillery, to the banks of the Rhine. 

Spain, in alliance with France, pushed the war in Italy, 
with such success, as to rouse up the king of Sardinia to an 
alliance with the empress, and king of England, and the war 
raged by sea and land. At the commencement of 1743, the 
French sued for peace — the allies refused. This artful poli- 
cy, kindled afresh the feuds of opposition in the British par- 
liament ; George reinforced his army in Flanders, and took 
the field in person. This occasioned such suspicious move- 
ments, particularly at the battle of Dettingeu, as damped the 
spirit of the allies, and caused the British general, the earl of 
Stain to resigu in disgust. 

The treat3''of Worms, between the arch duchess, Maria 
Theresa, and the king of Sardinia, strengthened her pros- 
pects ; but her imperious deportment led several German prin- 
ces to negotiate with the new emperor, Charles VII. at 
Frankfort. 

These movements called forth a secret treaty at Fountain- 
bleau, betv\een France and Spain, to recover the sovereignty 
of the Mediterranean, and at the same time all the old in- 
trigues for the restoration of the pretender were renewed, and 
correspondences opened between England, Scotland and 
France, an army of fifteen thousand men assembled in France, 
under the celebrated count Saxe, and actually embarked for 
England, to restore the pretender. 'J'his diversion failed, and 
was defeated by violent storms> and all further movements 
prevented by a superior Britis-h fleet, 1744. 

The various operations, and various successes of the par- 
ties through this year and the next, in Flanders, Italy, Spain 
and Germany, are too numerous and complicated for detail ; 



214 CHARLES III. IN SCOTLAND. 

suffice it to say, that at the close of the year 1745, all the 
contending powers were hushed to peace, excepting France 
and Austria : and the husband of Maria Theresa was crown- 
ed emperor, under the title of Francis 1. 

The successes of this war, strengthened and confirmed 
that mutual dependence and support, which the other alliance 
had encouraged, between Great Britain and the house of Aus- 
tria. As it proved to be then, so it has continued to be to 
this day, the great barrier aaaiiist the overbearing ambition, 
and the gigantic strides of France. 



CHAP. XXXIII. 

Btirope, from the accessmi of George IL of England, to the 
confederacy/ against the king of Prussia, and war ofnSQ. 

The violent oppo4tion to the continental war, which dis- 
tracted the British ounciU, at the accession of George II. 
and rendered a change of ministry so necessary — went into 
retirement with the ex-miaisters, but laid the foundation for 
that faction, which promoted and encouraged the return of 
the pretender, to sieze on the crown of England. This spirit 
spread into Scotland, that hot-bed of rebellion, where an in- 
surrection was soon in readiness to receive the (ftetender, and 
place him upon the English throne, in 1745. 

Fired with expectations, together with the flattering pros- 
pects from France, Charles III. son of James III. embarked 
from France, and landed in Scotland unattended, and unsup- 
ported; (bis supplies from France having been blown back 
and blockaded, as before observed.) The Scottish chiefs 
rallied round his standard — ^they marched into England with 
apparent success, but were soon compelled to retire into 
Scotland, where Charles enjoyed for a few days, the pride of i 
mock majesty ; fought the fatal battle of Cullotlen, deserted 
his standard and his friends, left them to their fate, and retir- 
ed to France. 

The severity of the government, in punishing the insur- 
gent chiefs, and stripping them of their hereditary jurisdic- 
tion, throughout the highlands, humbled this rebellious Sjdrit 
in Scotland, and secured the crown of England against all fci' 
ture claims froai the pretender. 



DEATH OF PHILIP. V. 215 

^The war wbich confiniud on the continent between 
France and Austria, was rendered illustrions in Flanders, un- 
er marshal Saxe, by his successes in this enmpaign ; but !he 
am|!aignin Italy was closed with various Rjccess in 1746. 

T lie treaty of Fontainbleau, between France and Spain, 
ms violated by a secret treaty, between France and the king 
f Sardinia, which roused the S(>anish jealousy, and distract- 
d the operations in Italy; at this ciitical juncture died 
'nilip the V. The government of Spain devolved upon the 
ueen — but Ferdinand VI. the son of Philip, succeeded to 
lie throne. 

The cau?e of France and Spain, soon became des[>erate in 
taly — they retired to Genoa, but were soon compelled to 
bandon that city to her fate, and retire into France. The 
lilitary exactions which the Austrians enforced upon Genoa, 
tumbled, and almost ruined that haughty republic ; yet left 
hem a spirit, which roused up and repelled their opfiressive 
ionquerors, and recovered their liberty. This closed the 
ampaign. The French, at the same time threatened Hano- 
er ; this caused a secret treaty between England and Prus- 
ia, and a subsidary treaty between England and Russia, 
rhus arrayed, the parties prepared for action. 

George II. published a spirited manifesto. The king of 
'russia penetrated into Saxony, took Dresden, and compel- 
ed Augustus 11 1, king of Poland, to take refuge with his army. 

He next penetrated into Bohemia, with apparent success^ 
mder desperate conflicts, at the same time the capture of the 
\hole Saxon array, opened his way to fall back into Saxony, 
md take up his winter quarters at Dresden. — Here he dis- 
covered the plan of the alli^;s, to divide up his kingdom ; 
)articularly Austria, Russia and Saxony, and preparations 
vere made to open the campaign with vigor. 

France opened the campaign, by a movement of eighty 
housand men, to invade the electorate of Hanover, and at 
be same time sent a small force into Germany, to co-operate 
fVith Austria. George II. entered with zeal into the war, dis- 
graced his opposing ministry, and strengthened his cause, by 
ippointing his friends, and sent tlie duke of Cumberland into 
Germany, to defend Hanover, at the head of forty thousand 
nen. The Russians prepared to co-operate with Austria. 

The king of Prussia anticipated all their movements, enter- 
;d Bohemia in four divisions, triumphed over one Austrian 
irmy, united his forces, triumphed over the main body of the 



216 BOHEMIA EVACUATED. 

Austrian force in Bohemia, and invested them in Prague. 
Elated with the successes of this victory, with too much confi- 
dence, he detached a part cf his army to check old marshal 
Daun, and soon follo%Ted in person with another detachment. 

These two great champions of the age met, and a tattle 
ensued ; the carnage of 20,000 men witnessed the valor and 
obstinacy of the conflict ; both sides claimed the victory. 
The king of Prussia retired, raised the siege of Prague, and 
evacuated Bohemia. The remarks which have fallen from 
the (sens of some of the greatest captains, in marking the 
errors of the king of Prussia, at this critical juccture, and 
shewing how he might not only have remedied his misfor-. 
tunes, but have triumphed over marshal Daun, are too len-'* 
gthy for this work. 

It must be evident at first view, to every reader, that the 
successes of the king, had inspired him with too much self- 
confidence, and too much contempt for his enemies — and 
that this caused his loss of Bohemia. 

At this critical state of the king, the Russians entered Prus- 
sia on the north, with an army of one hundred thousand men, 
and triumphed over one of his best generals, in a signal vic- 
tory ; the contest was sharp and desperate, the spirit of the 
Prussian charge, was received by the Russians upon tlie point 
of the bayonet, which displayed the firmness of their charac- 
ter and discipline; the Prussians retired with great loss. 
The valor and firmness of the Russians had not been experi- 
enced in the south, at that day ; and this war opened a field 
for the cultivation of their dicipUne, and laid the foundation 
for such future operations as have been witnessed. 

The English made some diversion on the coast of France 
this year, imt without efiVct ; and the French seized on the 
English settlement of Ma«iras, in the East Indies, which clos- 
ed the naval operations of this year, 1747. The campaign^ 
was opened the next year, by a great accession of strength to 
all the parties, and the srms of France were again rendered 
illustrious in Flanders under marshal Saxe ; they overran all 
the low countries, and threatened Holland. The general^ 
alarm roused up the spirit of the Dutch ; they invested the 
prince of O.ange, with the title of" stadtholder, captain gen-' 
eral and commander in ch'sef of all the United Provinces ;" 
and made vigorous efforts to defend their country. 

The iUustrious marshal Saxe triumphed over all opposi- 
tion ; and with the fall of Bergen-op-zoom, (the key of Dutch 



CONGRESS OF AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 21^ 

rabant,) became master of the navigation of the Scheldt, 
'he allied house of Bourbon were again unsuccessful, in all 
leir efl'orts in Italy this year. The triumph of England m 
748, over the navies and commerce of France, by the cap- 
ire of twelve ships of the line, and fifty East and West In- 
ia merchantmen, struck a severe blow to the spirits of Lewis 
y. and called his attention to a peace. 
This year opened with a general congress at Aix-la-Cha- 
Blle. The affairs of Lewis, although so highly successful in 
landers, had now become desperate : the ruin of his com- 
erce and navy, cut off the resources of his treasury ; the 
iiure of his hopes in Italy — the appointment of the grand 
jke, emperor, and thereby defeating?; the prime object of the 
ar, in establishing the claims of the arch duchess Maria The- 
!sa ; the treaty of Breslavv, which detached the king of Prus- 
a from the confederacy ; the new powers of the stadthold- 
*, which presented a formidable barrier on the part of Hol- 
nd ; but above all the high state of the English funds, their 
)erality, particularly in subsidizing the empress of Russia, 
d at the same time despatching a powerful fleet to the East 
dies, to recover Madras, and redeem Pondicherry — all 
essed Lewis to efforts for peace. A cessation of arms soon 
isued, and the peace of Aix-la- Chapelle, soon, closed the 
nguinary conflict, 1748. 

In this peace, the treaties of Westphalia, Rysa, &c. were 
nfirmed ; all conquests were restored, the accession of the 
ch duchess contirmed, and the guarantee of the pragmatic 
iiction renewed by all the former contracting parties, and 
things remained in statu quo, except the acquisition of Si- 
iia to the king of Prussia. 

Phis war is generally considered, as a useless, wanton waste 
blood and treasure forno adequate purpose. — This is strict- 
true, so far as it regarded France and Spain ; but far dif- 
ent with England : this war established the superiority of 
i English navy and commerce, confirmed the policy of the 
D former wars, of wasting the treasure, and humbling the 
use of Bourbon by continental alliances, whilst England 
stowed her whole attention upon her navy, her commerce, 
1 her colonies in the East and West Indies, and in North 
lerica, and laid the foundation of all her future greatness, 
e fruits of this war, saved her North American colonies. 
Fhe most flattering prospects of general tranquillity in Eu- 
>e» succeeded the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, and continued, 
19 



218 CAPTURE OF KJ! ORCA. 

with the exception of some feud* ni intrigues in the courtB 
of England. Frnnre and Spam dow r. to the year 1766. Dur- 
ing this period, so-ne strife anri intrigues sprang up, between 
the settlements o{ England and Frince m the East Indies j 
butnotiiing decisive, and a treaty settled their claims. 

In 1764, some collisions com^nenced between the English 
and French colonies in North America, wnich continued, and 
were interwoven w ith the seven years war, which commenced 
jn 1756, and which raged generally in Europe. The opera- 
tions of this war in America, I shall defer, and consider in the 
general history of America. 

The English took advantage of these collisions in Ameri- 
ca, and commenced general depredations upon the commerce 
of France, and captured more than three hundred sail of 
merchant ships : at the time same commenced their intrigues 
upon the continent. 

The state of the French funds, led the court of Lewis XV. 
to a new system of policy ; he bOre the depredations of the 
English, without making reprisals — he remembered the per- 
fidy of the king of Prussia, in deserting the confederates by 
the treaty of Ureslaw ; he remembered the cause of reseet- 
ment the house of Austria justly entertained against that 
prince, for his alliance with France, to oppose the claims 
of the arch duchess, and for the acquisition of Silesia, which 
he obtained by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. 

He felt the ascendency which George the II. had obtained 
in the two last wars, by his continental influence ; this he as- 
cribed to his power, as elector of Hanover. Lewis cherish- 
ed the resentment of the house of Austria, against the king of 
Prussia, and the two powers formed an alliance to punish th« 
king of Prussia, and divide up his dominions ; they had the 
address to unite Russia and Sweden in this confederacy, and 
the war commenced by the invasion of Minorca, by the 
French, which was carried, through the defection of the Brit- 
ish admiral Byng. 

A general exultation reigned in France, and a general de- 
spondency in England, and their former high martial spirit, 
now tamely submitted to the introduction of German troops 
into England, to repel a threatened invasion from Franc€> 
1757, 



H'AR IN PRUSSIA OF 1766. 219 

CHAP. XXXIV. 

6t€nerQ.l of airs of the seven years war in Europe, to the peace 
of Paris, 1763. 

During the operations in Boheiria and Prussia, tke diiVc 
ef Cumberland retired before the t'rench under the marshal 
De Etrees, took refuge under the canno '^Stade. and saved 
his army, by signing the convention ( i" v losterseven, aban- 
doning Hanover to the French arms, lad retiring to Eng- 
land. This occasioned a new revolution in the cabinet of 
George II : the ex-minister was restored, and some diversion 
planned and executed against the coast of France ; but with- 
out success. 

By these misfortunes in Europe, together with some losses 
in America, the English felt sensibly their disgrace ; when, 
the spirit of the nation was relieved by a favorable turn in 
their aifairs, a successful recovery of their former losses, 
.with some valuable acquisiitions in the East Indies, and an 
exaction of two millions, to indemnify the expenses of the 
war. 

The losses of the king of Prussia, constrained him to act 
on the defensive. The allied French and Austriaas, invaded 
Saxony, and summoned Leipsic. The king advanced to meet 
them ; a battle ensued ; the king was victorious — and the 
allies retired. Old mareschal Daun, at the same time ad- 
Tanced into Silesia, invested Schweidnitz, and carried it b\ 
3torm ; attacked and subdued the prince of Bevern, took him 
prisoner, and entered Breslaw. 

The king flew to the relief of Silesia, united his scattered 
forces, and prepared for action. Mareschal Daun, and prince 
Charles, advanced to meet the king, with the same confidence, 
that led the king into his misfortunes in Bohemia, viz. : too 
much self confidence ; and they in their turn experienced the 
same misfortune. 

The king met the alliens at Luthen, strongly posted, arid 
awaiting his attack. Here was exhibited the decisive advan- 
tage of Prussian tactics and discipline, over the superior for- 
ces and position of the allies. 

The king commenced the attack, by a movement on the 
right of the enemy's position ; and when mareschal Dau» 
had weakened his left, to support his right, the king by a mas- 
terly display to the'Vight, fell with his whole force upoD their 



.22® \TAR CONTIJfWEry. 

left ; the battle was decisive, the carnage was great ; the at-' 
lies were driven from their commanding position, and the 
king followed up his victory ; the aUies retired out of Silesia,; 
and the king entered Breslaw in triumph. 

The successes of the king, set the example to all his gene- 
rals, and the Russians and Swedes, were soon driven out of 
Prussia. These glorious successes of the king of Prussia, 
inspired his friends with fresh confidence, and roused up the 
electorate of Hanover, to assert their liberties. George II. 
placed the duke of Brunswick at their head, and by his suc- 
cessful valor, he compelled the French to retire out of Hano- 
ver, and repass the Rhine. These spirited measures in Prus- 
sia and Hanover, inspired the cabinet of George with fresh 
confidence, and led his minister, Mr. Pitt, to say, that Ameri- 
ca must be saved in Europe, and that the king of Prussia 
must be supported. 

A new treaty was negotiated with the king of Prussia, and 
the parliament were liberal in their supplies for the war. A 
change took place in the French ministry, and the war raged 
upon the Rhine with various success. During these opera- 
tions, the king of Prussia advanced in pursuit of mareschal 
Daun ; penetrated into Moravia, and laid siege to Olmutz. 

Upon the intelligence that the Russians had entered Bran- 
denburg, he raised the siege of Olmutz, retired in the face of 
that old hero, and returned into Prussia — met the Russians, 
and after a terrible conflict and carnage, he triumphed over 
them in the battle ofZorndorf : the Russians retired into Po- 
land, and the king, by a masterly movement, again appeared 
in Saxony, for the relief of his brother, against the imperial 
and Austrian armies : the latter under old mareschal Daun. 
A desperate action ensued, the king retired — but gained his 
purpose, and was not pursued. 

He passed again into Silesia ; expelled the Austrians, re- 
tnrned into Saxony ; compelled mareschal Daun to raise the 
siege of Dresden, and entered it in triumph. The splendid 
and triumphant displays of the arms of the king of Prussia, 
together with several successful diversions of England, on 
the coast of France, and the triumphant display of the Eng- 
lish flag in the British channel, gave a new aspect to the af- 
fairs of Europe, and closed the campaign of 1758, gloriously. 

The successes of the last season, enabled the king of Prus- 
sia, to open the next campaign, with a train of splendid success- 
<2S, against the Russians in Poland ; against the Swede in Pomo* 



WAR CONTINUED. 221 

ania : and against the Austrians in Silesia, Bohemia and 
'ranconia. These, together with his plans of operation with 
18 duke of Brunswick, gave promising assurances of aspee- 
y issue to the war : when a sudden reverse of fortune, hlast- 
d all his fair prospects, and gave a new turn to the opera- 
ions of the campaign. 

The French penetrated into Germany with splendid sue- 
ess, and again threatened Hanover ; the duke of Brunswick 
etired to the confines of the electorate, and gave battle to 
be French. The success of this action, saved Hanover : the 
'rench retired towards the Rhine, and the duke posted a part 
f his army for the defence of Hanover, and detached the re- 
lainderto the relief of the king of Prussia, whose forces had 
ecived a severe check by the Russians in Silesia, where 
he king was about to repair in person ; when old mareschat 
)aun reinforced the Russians, and rendered that army about 
ne hundred thousand strong : they took up a commanding 
losition, and awaited the approach of the king. 

Fired with resentment at the ravages of the enemy, and 
nflamed with the passions of war, the king with only fifty 
housand men, hastened to the contest ; 'the Russians were 
iroken, and routed : they again rallied to the contest ; and 
ook post-oti a commanding eminence — the king made seve- 
al desperate efforts to dislodge them ; but ffiled. The Aus- 
rian cavalry charged the Prussians in their turn, with suc- 
ess ; the action became general j thrice the king at the head 
•f his brave troops, led them to the charge — thrice his horse 
vds shot under him, and his clothes pierced with balls ; but 
without effect ; the mass of force was against him, and baf- 
led his power. The king retired, leaving a carn:ige ofthir- 
y thoustind men ; more Uian half of which were Prussians ; 
light closed the scene, and prevented a totf>l overthrow. 

A singular anecdote of the king, in this memorable actitin, 
nay be worth notice. Upon the success of the first charge, 
vhen the Prussians were in the Russian trenches ; the king, 
n the heat of the action, wrote the following message, and 
[espatched it to the queen " We have driven the Russians 
rom their entrenchments ; expect within two hours to hear 
>f a glorious Tictory." Immadiately upon the change in the 
brtune of the day, the king addressed a second m*3s.s.ige t* 
he queen, from the field of action. " Remove from Berlia 
vith the royal family. Let the archives be carried t*) Potz- 

19* 



222 WAR CONTINUEb. 

dam. The town may make conditions with the enemy." 
So fickle is the fortune of war. 

His majesty fell back, took a commanding position, recruit- 
ed and reinforced his army, was able to cover his capital, 
and to the astonishment of Europe, to act on the offensive, and 
recover all his losses in Saxony, except Dresden ; by a mas- 
terly movement, he compelled the Russians to retire into 
Poland — ^and in spite of the Austrian generals marched into 
Saxony, and old mareschal Daun fell back upon Dresden. 

Fired with his prospects, the king resolved to cut off the 
retreat of mareschal Daun, by a detachment from his own 
army, reduce the Austrian army at a blow, and close the 
campaign with the recovery of Saxony, by the total over- 
throw of Daun. This rash measure, lost him the whole 
force, detached to intercept the retreat of th"e old mareschal ; 
who took up his position in his fortified camp, and the king 
retired into winter quarters. 

Thus the campaign closed, after the most active operations, 
iSesperate carnage, and brilliant displays of arms, exactly 
-where it began : except the fall of Dresden to the Austrians. 

The operations of the winter opened a new scene — the suc- 
cesses in America, led the English to make the most of their 
fleet, and they commenced a general attack upon the French 
West India colonies, and with general success. The French 
and Dutch, made several efforts to~ravage the English settle- 
ments in India, but failed. 

At home also the French assembled their forces, equipped 
their fleets, and threatened to revenge the depredations of the 
English upon their coast, by invading England : this brought 
the theatre of action" upon the water. A general Jjlockadc 
of the ports of France, with several desperate engagements 
between the English and French, closed this scene in 1760. 



CHAP. XXXIV. Continued. 

In 1761, the campaign o|)ened with a general distribution 

of force, about the same as at the commencement of the last 

''^Iseason, with a continuation of the general plan. The duke 

of Brunswick protected Hanover, by the decisive action of 

Warburg. The king of Prussia, sensible of his rashness the 



WAR CONTINUED. 223 

last campaign, particularly at the close, resolved to maintain 
his strong position, and act on the defensive. 

He saw his dominions invaded by three powerful armies : 
the Russians upon the north ; one Austrian army in Saxony, 
under mareschal Daun ; and an other in Silesia, under general 
Laudohn. By a movement, and success of Laudohn, the 
king was constramed to abandon his defensive plan : by a 
rapid movement, he marched into Saxony, and laid siege to 
Dresden : mareschal Daun obliged him to retire, and without 
an action. 

At the same time Laudohn invested Breslaw ; and prince 
Henry compelled him to abandon it. The king, alarmed at 
the prospect of losing Siksia, by a junction between the Rus- 
sians and mareschal Daun, made a masterly movement and 
flew to its relief with his whole army, passed five large rivers, 
with all his artillery and baggage, traversed a country more 
than two hundred miles in extent, and appeared in Silesia ; 
here he was enclosed by these three powerful armies, and 
his fate considered desperate. 

The very nighty on which an attack was concerted by the 
three generals, upon the camp of the king, he cautiously re- 
tired, took a strong and commanding position, and watched 
the movements of the enemy. They advanced to the attack, 
as was agreed, in dead of night ; but to their astonishment, 
the king was gone. At break of day he fell furiously upon 
Laudohn, and before mareschal Daun could arrive with suc- 
cor, he routed and dispersed his army. 

The Russians withdrew from the scene, mareschal Daun 
also retired, and took up a strong position in the mountains, 
and the king was relieved : but his relief was only to follow 
the Russians to his capital, where they penetrated, rifled hrs 
magazines and royal treasures, laid the cit}* under contribu- 
tion, with other ravages attendant on war, and retired. 

This spread a general gloom over the affairs of the king. 
He, fired with indignation and rage, resolved to take ven- 
geance on his enemies. With this view, he rushed into Sax- 
ony, with an army of fifty thousand men ; mareschal Daun 
followed him with an army of eighty thousand, took up a 
strong position, and watched the king. 

Resolved to attack him in defiance of all his security, the 
king reconnoitered his position, drew out his array, i\n4 ad- 
vanced to the charge. Mareschal Daun received him with 
the discharge of more than two hundred pieces of cannon -j 



^2t WAR CONTINUED. 

victory long stood perched over the field — now this, and now 
that scale prevailed, until the great Daun was wounded, and 
carried off the field ; victory soon declared for the king — the 
Austrians fled, and left the field strewed with a terrible car- 
nage, and night only, saved the ruins of their army. 

This victory revived the spirits of his friends, and the na- 
tion, and by his sudden movements, he recovered all Saxony, 
except Dresden. The Austrians abandoned Silesia, the Rus- 
sians abandoned Pomerania, and retired into Poland, and the 
Swedes retired under the cannon of Stralsund. 

Thus again the theatre of Europe has been drenched in 
blood, the most masterly military movements have been 
made the most desperate and sanguinary battles have been 
fought, the greatest feats of prowess and skill have been dis- 
played, and no decisive event has occurred. 

The great contending parties are again balanced, as at the 
close of the last campaign ; but the success of the English 
in America, have richly compensated them for their liberal 
supplies afforded in the war. The French received a blow, 
which ruined their interest in North America, by the fall of 
Quebec, and the loss of Canada. 

The French were equally unsuccessful in India, by the 
loss of Pondicherry, which fell into the hands of the English, 
January, 1761. This closed the French power in Hindostan, 
and confirmed to the English the supremacy of the whole 
Coromandel coast. 

Again, we see the fruits of Continental alliances : so often, 
and so violently clamoured against in the English parliament. 
The French are ruined in America, in India, and have suffer- 
ed serious losses in their navy, commerce, and West India 
islands, all the fruits of continental wars. 

In the midst of this great continental struggle, and the suc- 
cesses of his reign, died George 11. who was succeeded by 
his grandson, George III. then twenty-three years of age,' 
1761. He commenced his reign under the most favorable 
auspices, and received the applause of the nation, by a most 
popular speech to his parliament in which he exclaimed — 
*' Born in England, I glory in the name of Briton." 

The eyes of all parties, at home and abroad, were fixed on 
the king. At this eventful crisis, aU Christendom became 
sensible of the wisdom of that continental system of policy,; 
which commenced in England, at the accession of Willjai»- 



CONGRESS OF AUGSBURii. ' 296 

ind Mary * and during the memorable reign of Lewis XIV. 
)f France, and which, by continuing down to this time, has 
vasted the resources of France and Holland, (the great naval 
md commercial rivals of England,) and enabled her to place 
ler naval and commercial strength upon such a basis, as to 
lold the purse for confederated Europe in one hand, and 
vield the sword of destiny with the other, and thus sit arbiter 
if th6 world. 

When George announced his resolution to his parliament, 
f supporting the continental system, it was applauded by a 
ote of supply of twenty million sterling; a supply, which 
stonished Europe, struck dismay into the confederates, and 
ed them into serious dispositions for peace. 

The iinances of France were drained ; her navy and com- 
lerce were depressed ; her affairs in India and America ruin- 
d, and her West India colonies lay at the mercy of an Eng- 
ish tieet, prepared to invade them. The courts of Vienna, 
lussia and Sweden, were in no better condition to prosecute 
le war. 

A congress was accordingly assembled at Augsburg, to ad- 
istihe differences of the continental powers generally ; but 
egociations were opened at London, between France and 
ingland, for a separate peace : at this critical state of affairs, 
ied Ferdinand VI. king of Spain, who was succeeded by his 
rother, Don Carlos, king of Naples and Sicily, now Charles 
[I. This momentous event, gave a new change to the af- 
lirs of Christendom, and laid the foundation for the famous 
imily compact of the Bourbons, upon the thrones of France 
nd Spain. t 

The principle ofuti possidetis,| or mutual retention of pos- 

*It must be remembered, that continental coalitions first began, in the 
jgn of Charles VIII. of France. 

t The resentment shown by Mr. Pitt, closed at once the family com- 
ict between the courts of France and Spain. This compact roused 
e indignation of Mr- Pitt, and he called for a declaration of war 
;;ainst Spain ; this was opposed with equal warmth, and the minister 
signed in disgust. Upon the change of ministry in England, the 
)urts of France and Spain, recalled their ministers from London, and 
ued mutual declarations of war, and ai the same time, attempted to 
erce the king of Portugal into a co-operation, in the war ; this failed, 
>d they declared war against Portugal. 

:j: The English had conquered from France, in North Annerica — No- 
I Scotia, with the city of Louisburg—Lower Canada, wi!!i the cities 



226 • Invasion of Portugal* 

sessions acquired by the parties in tfce war, spun out the ae* 
gociations at London : at the same time Charles III. sensible 
of the triumphs of England, over France, in America, by the 
great acquisitions of colonial territory, and alarmed for the 
security of Spanish America, attempted to interpose his influ- 
ence in the negociations at London ; but without success, 
and they were suspended. 

Thus the negociations for peace, at Augsburg and London, 
resulted in a genf^rid war, and again tne whole south of Europe 
engaged in the struggle. During these negociations, no ces- 
sation of hostilities ensued ; the war raged in Germany, the 
English invaded the coast of France, and took Bellisle, The 
French made another effort to enter the electorate of Han- 
over, bat without success ; and the year 1762, closed with- 
out any thing decisive. 

The year 1763, commenced with the invasion of Portugal, 
by the arms of France and Spain, but without success. The 
French renewed their attempts on Hanover — but without suc- 
cess. — The death of Elizabeth, empress of Russia, and rhe 
accession of the duke of Holstein unde the tiJe of Peter IIL 
gave some relief lo the affairs of the king of Prussia. 

Peter turned his whole attendon to the organization of the 
affairs of his empire, took the position of aiediaior, between 
Austria and Prussia, and when his efforts proved abortive, 
declared war ag^iinst Ausr ha, anr? joined the king of Prussia. 
This change produced a peace between Sweden and Prussia. 
These two events left tae king of Prussia at liberty to turn 
his whole attention to the two great champions of Austria, 
mareschal Daun and Laudohn. 

At this critical moment died Peter the HI. suddenly, and 
was succeeded by Catharine H. She confirmed the peace 
©f P«ter, but withdrew her troops, and left the Austrians and 
Prussians to settle their quarrel. — The king, by a grand 
^movement, foiled the efforts of his opponents, recovered 
Schweidnit:?, and settled a truce with Austria, for Saxony and 
Silesia. This produced a general truce throughout the' 
empire. 

During these movements in Russia and Germany, the Eng- 
lish pursued the policy which they had now so fully ma- 

of Quebec and Montroal, together with all French America, except 
New-Orleans. They had, the last year, conquered Pondicherry, to- 
gether with all the possessions of France in India, and some of h,er 
West-India islands. 



PEACE OP PARISL ^ 227 

tuved : their naval expedition was crowaed with the conquest 
of Martinico, and the city of Havannah, the capital of the isl- 
and of C aba, and key to the gulf of Mexico. 

An expedition from Madras^ in India, against Manilla, was 
crowned with the conquest of all the Philipine isles. In 
this triumphant position,, the British minister announced his 
overtures of peace : they were accepted by France and Spain' : 
approved by parliament, and the war closed by the peace of 
Paris, February, 1763. . ' . , 

By this peace, the king of Prussia retained all his domin- 
ions, with the confirmation of Saxony and Silesia ; England 
retained all her conquests in North America, and restored 
to France and Spain, her conquests in the East and West- 
Indies. The close of this war, sealed the policy of the con- 
tinental system of England, and established her upon the 
broad basis, of mistress of the seas, and arbiter of the world. 
The war in Germany was closed by the treaty of Huberts- 
burg, the same year. 

The splendor of the arts and sciences in Europe, kept 
pace with the splendor of commerce and arms ; these com- 
bined, gave a lustre to the affairs of the continent, and a new 
polish to Christendom. The improvements of the stage, kept 
pace with the improvements of the age : here, poetry, music 
and action combined, gave an expression to the theatre un- 
known before, to any age of the world. The general expan- 
sion given to the mind, by the reformation, kept pace with, 
and marked the progress of this bright lupinary of the west. 
The persecutions of the papal power, had softened into a sul- 
len state of tolerance. 

The feuds in the councils of Lewis XIV. which called 
forth the bull Uni genitus from pope Benedict XIV. to decide 
the religious controversy between the Jansenists and Jesuits, 
and which kindled a fire that continued to rage through the 
reign o{ Lewis XV, deserves same attention. The haughty 
impatience, and violent measures of Lewis XV. in dissolving 
the parliament of France, called up the general attention of 
the nation to this violence done to their liberties^ and threat* 
ened the life of the king, by assassination. 

The king escaped with a wound only : this brought him t® 
bis senses. He restored the parliament : and the Jesuits, 
fell a sacrifice to the resentments of the day. The king, by 
an edict, expelled then his kingdom, and abolished their or- 
der in France. 



S5i^8 QENERAt REMARKS. 

This triumph of the parliament over the crown, and this 
triumph of the Jansenists party over the order of the Jesuits, 
laid the foundation for the union of philosophy with infidelity, 
©f freedom of inquiry with the violence of liberty, and paved 
the way for al! the future sufferings of France. 

In this age. flourished Montesquieu, Helvetius, Voltaire, 
De Alembert, Diderot, Rosseau and Buffon. The same ex- 
pansion of the mind in England, kept pace with liberty, and 
the reformation : and there flourished a Locke, a Swift, with 
Addison, Pope and others ; together with that host in the 
councils, and in the field, in the reign of queen Anne, who 
were the champions of all the future greatness of England. 

in this age, appeared Bolingbroke and Hume : these, hav- 
ing drank at the fountain of Hobbes and Shaftsbury, by their 
talents and address, diffused the poison of infidelity through 
the channels of science, and corrupted the nation. 

The arts in this age, kept pace with the sciences : music, 
painting, sculpture, architecture and husbandry, claimed a 
fair competition, with the most refined ages of Greece, or 
Rome — and the science of government, as displayed in the 
balance of power in the English system, stood uniivalledin 
the annals of time. • 

We have now traced the progress of man on the great 
theatre of Europe, from that state of barbarism, into which 
he was precipitated, by the violence of the revolution in the 
western Roman empire, through all the extremes of igno- 
rance, violence, superstition and licentiousness, through 
which he struggled for more than one thousand years — and 
marked the more prominent causes, of which the eventual 
changes, raised Christendom to her present state of civil re- 
finement. 



CHAP. XXXV. 

Discovery and Settlement of America 

The discovery of America, we have noticed ; hut the settle- 
ment and grovvth of this new world, has been re-erved, as a 
distinct subject, that the narrativ^ of events in Europe might. 
not be interrupted, aBd that a proper field might be given for 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 229 

the illustration of this extensive, and important subject ; a 
iield so novel, and yet so interesting, so Tuli of instruction. 

The lirst outlines of the history of America, 1 have com- 
pressed into a chronological form, shewing in the concisest 
manner, the first adventures, which led to the discovery and 
settlement of the several parts of this new world. 

Christopher Columbus, under the patronage of Ferdinand 
and Isabella, king and cjueen of Spain, discovered the islands 
of St. Salvador and Cuba, in the West-Indies, and returned 
to Spain, A. D. 1492. 

Made a second voyage, which proved unsuccessful, 1493. 

Made a third voyage, and discovered South-America, 1498. 

Americus Vespucius, under the patronage of the merchants 
of Seville, followed the track of Columbus, touched upon the 
continent of South-America ; returned, published a pompous 
account of his voyage and discoveries, and gave his name to 
the continent of America, 1499. 

John Cabot, a Venetian, obtained a grant form Henry VII. 
of England for foreign discoveries, explored the coast of 
North- America, touched upon the coast of Labrador, and re- 
turned to England, 1495 — 6. 

He, in a second voyage explored the whole extent of the 
coast, from Davis' Straits to Florida, discovered Newfound- 
land, and returned to England, 1497. 

Sebastian Cabot, (son of John Cabot) under Henry VII. 
pursued the adventures of his father, visited Newfoundland, 
and carried several natives to England, 1502. 

Brazil discovered by Alvarez de Cabral, on his voyage to 
India, 1500. 

Cortez, the Spanish adventurer, conquered Mexico, 1519. 

Peru was conquered by the Spanish adventurer Pizar- 
ro, 1520. 

Terra Firma was settled, 1520. 

The Portuguese settled Brazil, 1549. 

Francis 1. king of France, made some efforts for discove- 
ries in the new world by John Verezano, a Florentine, but 
without success ; Verezano was lost in his second adven- 
ture, 1524. 

T^n years after this, Francis made another effort, by James 
Quartier, who touched at Newfoundland ; discovered, and 
gave name to the gulf of St. Lawrence ; and made an unsuc* 
cessful attempt to find a passage to China. The next year 
he explored the St. Lawrence up to the rapids, wintered iti 

20 



'230 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 

the country at a fort which he built on the isle of OrleanSy 
^wh-iTe Montreal now stands) and in the spring carried back 
^vith him some of the natives to France, 1534. 

Ferdinand de Soto, a Spaniard, made the first settlement in 
Florida, where he remained three years and died, and left 
his conquest to Alverdo, lo39> 

Francis I. sent James Quartier to complete a settlement 
in Canada (or New-France,) where he remained at a place 
called Charlebourg, about two years, and then retired to 
Newfoundland, 1540. 

Francis I. sent out other adventurers to strengthen the set- 
tlement in Canada, there they wintered, but returned to 
France in the spring following : this failure, checked all fur- 
ther efforts for settling Canada on the part of France during 
this reign. These adventures to Canada, were succeeded by 
adventures from Europe, for the discovery of the north-east 
passage to India, all of which failed, on account of the ice in 
the northern ocean. About this time began the Newfound- 
land fisheries, which have since proved so profitable to the 
world, 1542. 

The French under Chatillon, made some further discov- 
eries in East-Florida, and attempted a settlement, which 
failed, 1562. 

Charles IX. sent out three ships, and made a settlement on 
the river St. Mary, built a fort, and called the settlement Car- 
olina, 1564. 
This colony was overpowered by a fleet of six vessels 
, from Spain, and all massacred, 1566. 
The French sent out to Florida a fleet of three ships, to re- 
venge on the Spaniards the murder of their countrymen. 
The enterprise proved successful, they butchered the Span- 
iards, burnt and destroyed their fort and settlements, and re- 
turned to France : this closed the adventures from France 
to America for fifty years, 1568. 
The discovery of a north-east passage to India having fail- 
ed, the English began to explore the north west passage to 
India, under captain Frobisher, and under Sir Francis 
Drake, 1576. 
Q,ueen Elizabeth granted letters patent to Sir Humphrey 
Gilbert in 1 579, for foreign discoveries, and in 1 583 he touch- 
ed at Newfoundland, and from thence to the continent, and 
took possession of North America, for the English crown. 



U13COVERY OF AMERICA i 231 

In this adventure he was lo^t in a storm, and the enterprise 
failed, 1583. 

In 1584, the coast of Virginia was discovered, named after 
the virgin queen, and settled by one hundred and seven per- 
sons near the river Roanoke ; in 1586 they all returned to 
England with Sir Francis Drake, who touched there on his 
homeward passage. Sir Walter Raleigh sent out seven ships, 
with another colony, to the same settlement on the Roanoke, 
where they also endured extreme hardships, and were, in 
their turn conveyed back to England by Sir Francis Drake. 
Soon after they were gone, a new colony arrived to support 
the first- with fifty men, who concluded to stay, notwithstand- 
ing the others had gone. The next year Sir Walter sent out 
a third colony to support the second ; when they arrived at 
Roanoke, not a vestige of the former colony remained. This 
third colony consisted of one hundred and fifteen, who at- 
tempted to renew the former settlement at Roanoke. 

Governor White came over again, to recruit the little 
colony in Virginia ; but alas ! they had all shared tlie fate 
of the two former, and not a vestige of them was to be 
found, 159C). 

The English explored the coast, as far north as Cape Cod, 
and called the country North Virginia ; but made no settle- 
ment, and returned to England, IGO'2. 
The English made two adventures to Virginia, and not 
finding the third colony at Roanoke, and being roughly hand- 
led by the natives, they all returned to England, 1603. 
The French began the settlement at Port Royal, and other 
places on the bay of Fundy, 1604. 
The English explored the coast of the province of Maine, 
made no settlement, and returned to England, 1606. 
The London company (by virtue of letters patent, under 
James I. king of England,) sent out a colony to South Vir- 
ginia, and began a settlement at Fowhattan, or James 
river. 1606. 
In 1607 they sent out a second colony, and settled James 
Town in South Virginia, on James river. This was the first 
town planted in North America, notwithstanding all the ef- 
forts which had been made : but the next winter, James 
Town was burnt. This year the Plymouth company sent out, 
and settled a small colony at the mouth of Sagadehoc river, 
in North Virginia, of forty-five persons, under captain Pop- 
ham their president ; the severity of the winter, together with 



232 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 

the loss of their stores by fire ruined this colony : and the 
■few that remained returned in the spring to England. Tliis 
misfortune deterred rII further settlements in North Virginia 
for several years. The French began the settlement of 
Quebec, 1607. 

In 1608 and 9, the London company sent out supplies, and 
a recruit of two hundred persons, to strengthen the colony 
at James Town, which now amounted to five hundred men. 
Admiral Somers, on his passage to America, with a part of this 
little fleet, was wrecked on one of the Bahama islands, lost 
his ship but the crew and passengers vvere all saved, and re- 
mained there until the next year, when they were all taken off 
by lord De la War, on his passage to Virginia, to enter upon 
%he government of this little colony — which the last year con- 
sisted of five hundred men, but w^as now reduced to sixty ; 
who had abandoned the colony, and embarked for England ; 
but being met by their new governor, they were persuaded 
to return to James Town, where they all arrived safe, June 
iOth, IGIO. 

In 1611, two supplies of three hundred men each, were 
sent to this colony, together with cattle, swine, &c. to ena- 
ble them to cultivate their own supplies. In 1609, captain 
Henry Hudson, under a commission of king James I. in the 
service of the East India company, in quest of a north west 
passage to India, discovered North, or Hudson's river, and the 
same, voyage discovered Hudson's bay. In 1613, the Dutch 
West India company opened a trade to this river ; and in 
J 623 established trailing houses on Connecticut river, claim- 
ed all the country from Cape Cod to Cape Henlopen, and 
called it New Netherlands ; this commenced the settlement 
of New-York. At this time the Virginians sent and dislodg- 
ed the French from all their settlements in North America, 
excepting Quebec ; and brought all their effects to Virginia, 
with all their vessels. The French, Dutch, and English 
carried on an advantageous trade with the natives ; and in 
coasting along the shores for this purpose, made further 
discoveries, and drew charts, one of which drawn by a 
captain Smith, changed the name of North Virginia, to that 
of New England, Vi'hich it continues to hold. 

Baffm's bay was discovered, by William Baffin, in search 
for a north west passage, 1615. 

The distresses of war, famine and pestilence, amongst the 
.native^ of Nf^w-England. prepared the way for a more quiet 



^LTTLEMENT OF NORTH AMERICA. 23S 

fJossession— and the little colony of puritans, under the reve- 
rend John Robinson, to make their settlement at Plymouth, 

The whole extent of coast being now explored from the 
gulf of Mexico to Davis' Straits, it will exceed the limits of 
this work to detail the subsequent adventures and settle- 
ments ; I shall therefore comprise the whole in one short 
chronological table. 
Quebec, the capital of Lower Canada settled by the 

French, 1608. 

Newfoundland by the English, 1610. 

Virginia, do. 1610. 

New- York, } . ,^.. 

XT T > do. 1614. 

New-Jersey, ^ 

New-Plymouth, by the puritan colony, 1620. 

Nova Scotia by the Scotch, under Sir William Alex- 
ander, ^ 1622. 
Confirmed to the English by France, after several 

changes, at the peace, 1648. 

New Hampshire settled by the English, 1623. 

Delaware and Pennsylvania, by the Swedes and Fins, 1627. 
Massachusetts Bay, by the English, 1 628. 

Maryland do. 1633, 

Connecticut and Rhode Island, from Massachusetts 

Bay, 163c, 

New Jersey, under a grant to the duke of York, by the 

English, " 1664. 

South Carolina, do. 1669. 

Pennsylvania, by a grant to William Penn, do. 1682. 

North Carolina, by the EnglUh, 1728, 

Georgia, do. 1732. 

Vermont, by New-Hampshire and New-York, 1764. 

Kentucky, from Virgmia, under Col. Boon, 1773. 

Ohio, from Connecticut and other stales, 1787. 

Tennessee, do. 1789. 

The territories of Michigan, Illinois and Indiana 

about 1780 & 1801. 

Louisiana purchased of France for fifteen millions of 

dollars, 1803. 

The Territory of Orleans, under the name of the 

State of Louisiana, was admitted into the Union, 1812, 
The Territory of Mississippi was admitted into the 

Union, 1818. 

The Territories of Indiana, and Illinois was admitted, 1818, 
£0* 



234 SETTLEMENT OF NORTH AMERICA, 

The Destrict of Maine, (now State of Maine) with the 

Territory of Missouri was admitted, ]820. 

By this table may be seen the most rapid and extensive 
settlements, that have ever been witnessed in the family of 
man ; embracing an extent of territory, from the gulf of 
Mexico on the south, to the Hudson's bay on the north, and 
from the Atlantic shores on the east, to the interior wilds of 
Louisiana on the west — more than 2000 miles square, em- 
bracing a population of more than fourteen millions of free 
people, — all accomplished in the space of two centuries : 
those very two centuries in which we have witnessed the 
conflicts and distresses on the continent of Europe, since the 
reigns of Charles V. of Spain, Francis I. of France, and Hen- 
ry VIII. of England. 

That age of the reformation, when the immortal Luther 
commenced his glorious career, and accomplished the pre- 
diction of the prophet St. John, in Revelations xiv. 6 — laid 
the foundation for the religious liberties of Europe, and the 
civil and religious liberties of America. 

A history of the rise and progress of the several States of 
America, their private disputes, their conflicts with the na- 
tives, together with the genius and forms of their government, 
and from the great similarity that was common to the whole, 
would be tedious and uninteresting. I will select the col- 
ony of Plymouth, and with this, commence and continue the 
history of America. 

This little family of puritans, consisting of one hundred 
persons, flred with that civil and religious zeal which shone 
so conspicuous at the close of the reign of James I. in re- 
sisting the overbearing influence of popery, and the usurpa- 
tions of the crown, and in establishing the commonwealth in 
England, in the reign of Charles I. — rallied round their cler- 
gyman, the Rev. John Robinson, a pious godly man, retired 
jfrom the persecutions of their country, and passed ©ver into 
Holland : not pleased with the Dutch, they embarked for 
America, and landed at Plymouth Nov. 20, O. S. 1620. The 
sufferings they endured from the severity of the climate, the 
hostile character of the natives, and the want of supplies, 
were too distressing to be described ; 3'^etthey were endured, 
with all that patience and resignation which the gospel af- 
fords, to all those who love and obey its dictates, and cherish 
in their hearts the purity of its principles. 



COLONY OF PLYMOUTM. 2o5 

At thi3 time a general spirit of foreign adventure prevailcdj 
and commenced settlements extensively upon the Atlantic 
shores of North America, as may be seen hy the chronologic- 
al table ; the emigratioHS from England, (although in detach- 
ed parts,) retained a general union and harmony, as having 
sprung from one great family. They all brought out with 
them those principles of liberty which prevailed over tyran- 
ny n England, and established the commonwealth under Oli- 
ver Cromwell — yet in forming their civil institutions, they re- 
tained the true principles of that balance of power in the three 
branches of the British government, with an elective chief 
magistrate, which secured to them all the blessings of civil 
and religious liberty ; these they enjoyed, and laid the founda- 
tion of our present great national compact. 

The use of gun powder gave the first settlers of America 
a superiority over the;uild,li.rlMcus-,untutoitdsavage9ofthis 
howling wilderness, which nothing of human invention could 
have supplied ; this, by spreading terror and astonishment, 
with carnage and destruction, overawed those hardy sons of 
nature, and either repelled them from their borders, or tamed 
them to peace and submission. 

Although the rapid progress of the settlements encroached 
upon their rights, robbed them of their corn-fields and their 
hunting grounds ; and kindled resentments, which often broke 
out into resistance, violence and savage war, these were soon 
subdued by the all conquering force of fire arms. Treaties 
were made with the chiefs, lands were purchased, or ceded 
by the rights of conquest, and in 1755 the colonies of New- 
Enrrland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, 
Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, had all, es- 
tablished colonial governments, and were able to assert and 
maintain their rights against the savage and barbarous depreda- 
tions of the natives, and the encroachments of their n.?vjh- 
bors the French. The French were settled on the north, on 
the island of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and the Cana(ias, 
with a line of military posts extending from Quebec through 
the western line of the colonies to New-Orleans. 

At this time the government of France had become jeal- 
ous of the rising strength of British America, and fired with 
that ambition of giving law to the world, which we have seen 
displayed in the reigns of Lewis XIV. and XV. they contem- 
plated the conquest of all British America ; and by and attack 
upon these colonies in 1755, commenced that seven year*' 



23G OLD FRENCH WAR, 

war, which drenched Europe and America in blood ; that 
war, which was rendered so illustrious in Europe, by the 
successful displays of the talents of the king of Prussia, and 
was so gloriously closed, in 1763. 



CHAP. XXXVI. 



General operations of the seven years'' war in America, to the 
peace of 1763 — with some remarks. 

A particular detail of the events and operations of the war 
of 1755 — 6, in America, will give a more distinct character 
of the natives, and their savage wars, as well as the character, 
genius, and civil and religious institutions of the colonies, 
than can otherwise be obtained. 

The settlement of Nova Scotia, (which was made by the 
Scotch,) after successive strucjgles, was ceded by France to 
England, by the peace of Utrecht, 1713. During these 
struggles, and when France was in possession, the French 
population surpassed the Scotch and' English, and rendered 
Nova Scotia distinctly a French colony, to which France had 
given the name of Le Acadie, and the inhabitants assumed 
the name of neutrals. 

The English government, being dissatisfied with the neu- 
trality of Le Acadie, in the war of 1746 ; immediately upon 
the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, sent out a colony from Eng- 
land, to settle and build the town of Halifax. The object of 
this commanding position was, to hold a balance of power in 
those seas, and protect the valuable fisheries. 

This movement thwarted the views, alarmed the pride, and 
excited the jealousy of France. A question of limits and 
boundary, sprang up between the two powers in Nova Sco- 
tia, and soon extended through the whole line, from the gulf 
of St. Lawrence, to the mouth of the Mississippi. 

The particular controversy about limits and boundaries, 
through this vast and extensive howling wilderness ; bounda- 
ries which neither of the parties had ever enjoyed, but which 
both contemplated to enjoy hereafter, would be useless here 
— suffice it to say, the French, fired with resentment, first 
pushed their encroachments in Le Acadie, or Nova Scotia, 
next excited the natives and French to make depredations. 

They seized on a trading establishment, which Virginia 



OLD FRENCH WAR. 257 

had made on the Ohio river, massacred all the settlers, plun- 
dered and carried off their booty, to the amount of twenty 
thousand pounds, and claimed the jurisdiction as belonging 
to New France, (comprehending the Canadas and Louisiana.) 
They next seized on another Virginia settlement, at the forks 
of the Mouongahela, with a force of one thousand men, and 
eigJiteen pieces of cannon. 

These formidable encroachments threw the colonies into 
the highest alarm, soon produced an order from England to 
repel force with Ibrce, and war commenced. Here began 
in America the scourging of that rod, which instead af a curse, 
as was then considered, has proved the means of consolida' 
ling and securing, all the blessings of free and independent 
America. 

The orders of the crown were obeyed ; but what could be 
the resistance of the colonies, in their discordant, disjoined 
state, against a power acting promptly nnder one head, and 
that, the governor of all New France. 

The same controversies which distracted the English na- 
tion, were carried with the diflferent colonies into the new 
world. The strife of religion and government, sowed the 
seeds of bitterness in the several colonies — they quarrelled 
with their governors, they quarrelled with the crown, and the}' 
quarrelled with each other, about limits and jurisdiction. The 
spirit of their religions were different ; some catholic, some 
protestant ; this rendered the genius of their governments 
different, some verging towards monarchy, others to democ- 
racy. All producing a want of union and concert. 

This was well understood by France, and soon realized by 
Great Britain and the colonies. To remedy these evils, and 
to be able to caH forth their resources with energy, a con- 
gress of all the colonies was proposed, and held in the city 
of Albany, and the chiefs of the Iroquois, (or six nations,) 
were invited to attend. The intrigues of the French, de*^ 
feated the plan of engaging the Iroquois in the war, but their 
neutrality was secured by presents from the crown of Eng- 
land, and the promise of repelling the French from their 
country. 

Fired with zeal and unanimity, the congress resolved to 
prosecute the war, and support the British claims in North 
America. Major Washingtonwas despatched from Virginia, 
to watch the motions of the enemy, and to recover the set- 
tlements on the Ohio and Monoagahela, but without any cie 



238 braddock's defeat. 

cisive operations. The intrigues of the courts of France and 
England, disguised all their operations under the mask of 
peace, but at the same time, they sent powerful fleets an4 
armaments to support their claims in America 

A collision between these tieets, in the gulf of St. Law- 
rence, and the capture of two sixty -four gun ships by the 
English, closed this diplomatic farce, and commenced the war. 
This success gave spirit to the British nation, and kindled a 
flame of ardor, zeal and vigor, throughout the colonies. 

The legislature of Massachusetts bay, passed an act of non- 
i-ntercourse with Louisburg, and sent reinforcements to Nova 
ficotia. The successes of colonel Moncton, soon established 
the British government, and restored tranquillity to Nova 
Scotia. 

During these general operations, the French had establish- 
ed themselves upon the Monongahela, and built the strong 
post, called fort Duquesne, at the confluence, where Pitts- 
burg now stands An expedition was planned to co-operate 
with major Washington, under the command of the British 
general Braddock, in reducing this post. General Braddock, 
unacquainted with Indian warfare, and fired with the am- 
bition of his nation, was precipitated into a scene, unknown 
in the tactics of Europe, and indescribable in human lan- 

At mid day, near the object of his destination, and in the 
midst of security, a terrible fire of musketry poured in upon 
him, on all sides, accompanied with the most hideous and tre- 
mendous yells, of those hellhounds of the forest ; the whole 
thicket was in a blaze with the explosion of an Indian ambus- 
cade, and not an enemy to be seen ; the whole wilderness 
resounded with the terrors of the war whoop — the plain was 
strevved with heaps of dead, and the troops appalled with the 
horrors of tlie scene, and the groans of the dying. Braddock 
was slain. The illustrious major, fnow colonel Washington,) 
conducted the retreat, and led off' the shattered remains of 
this army, with the loss of all their artillery, baggage, &.c to- 
gether with their general, and all the principal officers. The 
regular force retired to Albana, to join general Shirley — and 
Virginia was left to her fate. 

The want of union in their councils and measures, render- 
ed the eff'orts of the southern states feeble and inefi*ectual ; but 
New York and New-Jersey, combining with New-England — ^ 
passed decrees of non-intercourse with all the French settle 



OSWEGO TAKKN ^36 

ments in North America, and united in two grand expeditions 
against Crown Point and Niagara : the first under sir William 
Johnson, and the second under general Shirley. 

The colonial troops were assembled at Albany, when the 
news of the defeat at fort Duquesne, was announced ; this 
damped the ardor of the enterprise : the attempt upon Niaga 
ra was deferred, and the expedilion to Crown Point abandon- 
ed, after some successful skirmishing. The armies went in- 
to winter quarters, and closed the camyjaign of K/S?. 

In 1758. the spirits of England and America were raised, 
by the restoration of Mr. Pitt, to the head of the administra- 
tion ; but the covention of Closter-seven, in Germany, and 
the failure of Mr Pitt's grand expedition to the coast of 
France, damped tlieir ardor. Great supplies of troops and 
military stores however were sent to America, and an expe- 
dition was planned against Louisburg, under lord Loudon ; but 
just at the critical moment of attempting the enterpris^e, intel- 
ligence arrived, that Louisburg was reinforced from France, 
by a strong fleet and armament — and that enterprise was 
abandoned- 

During these movements, the French had seized on fort 
Oswego, at the confluence of the river of the same name with 
Lake Ontario, which secured the ascendency over the Iro- 
quois, (or six nations,) together with all the tribes that sur- 
round the great lakes, and left the whole extent of the co- 
lonial settlements exposed to their ravages. The finest vil- 
lages fell a sacrifice to savage depredations Flushed with 
success, the French planned an expedition against fort Wil* 
liam Henry, (upon the soiith side of lake George,) and carried 
it almost whithout opposition ; the garrison, although protect- 
ed by a capitulation, were permitted to sufTer all the horrors 
of an Indian massacre. 

These misfortunes overwhelmed the kingdom and the co- 
lonies, with a gloom and melancholy, bordering on despair. 
They began to fear that all was lost — when a ray of light ap- 
peared in the East : the British arms triumphed over the 
French in India^ — the town of Calcutta was restored by the 
efforts of the famous colonel Clive : the company were rein- 
st;ited in all their privileges and possessions, and extensive 
and valuable acquisitions crowned their conquests in India. 

During these operations in the east, lord Loudon had bee* 
succeeded in America, by general Abercrombie, and tne 
expedition of Louisburg renewed, A strong detarhmemt 
from Nova Scotia, under general Amherst, supported b^y e 



240 CAPTURE OF LOUISBURG. 

powerful fleet, joined general Abercrombie, and appeared 
before Louisburg. The place was invested by sea and land ; 
and in six weeks, the success of the British arms was crown- 
ed by the capture of Louisburg, and the whole island of Cape 
Breton, together with an important naval force, stationed for 
the defence of the harbor. This secured to the English the 
command of the fisheries, and the gulph of St. Lawrence, 
and raised the spirits of the colonies. 

Flushed with success, general Abercrombie repaired to 
Albany, took the command of the army of the north, aRd 
commenced an expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown 
Point. He embarked upon lake George, with about 16,000 
men, after slight successes, and little opposition, and appear- 
ed by forced marches before Crown Point : here he found a 
strong position, defended by a morass, a strong breast work, 
and a (hevaux de frise : his impatience led him to commence 
the attack, before his artillery had arrived ; the assault was 
deperate, the defence firm, and the defeat decisive : the 
general was compelled to retire, with the loss of about 2000 
men, 'J'o repair this loss and disgrace, general Abercrombie 
detached coioael Bradstreet, with 3000 men, to reduce fort 
Frontenac, at the confluence of Lake Ontario with the St. 
Lawrence. 

This expedition was crowned with success : the fort, with 
an immen!?e quaniity of provisions and military stores, with 
sixty pieces of cannon, and nine armed sloops, were the tro- 
phies of this victory. 

This success gave spirit to the expedition now planned 
against Fort Duqaesne, under Gen. Forbes. The French 
appalled at the loss of Louisburg, and Frontenac, abandoned 
the fort and retired down the Ohio to their settlements on the 
Mississippi. These successes in America gave strength and 
confidence to the English administration, and spirit and onion 
to the colonies, secured a general quiet throughout their ex- 
tensive frontier, and closed tlie operations of 1758. 



CHAP. XXXVI. Continued. 

Great preparations were made in England and America, 
during the winter, to bring the war in America to a close the 
ensuing campaign. The balance of the great contending par- 
ties on the continent, still found employment for the aitns 



BATTLE OP THE PLAIN. 241 

and resources of France, and left England at liberty to turn 
her whole attention to the American war. The minister as- 
sumed a train of the boldest movements, and was peculiarly 
fortunate in his selection of otficers to command. 

He sent a strons; land and naval force up the St. Lawrence 
to invest Quebec, under the command of the illustrious 
Wolfe, and concerted a plan of operations under Gen. Am- 
herst, by the way of Lake Chatriplain, to peneliate into Can- 
ada, Bnd CO operate with Geu. Wolfe, in the cap: ure of Quebec. 

The movements were made with ereat firmness and skill. 
Wolfe appeared with his fleet before Quebec, early in the sea- 
son; here he found a fortress srongly garrisoned, and sup- 
ported with a powerful force of French, Canadians and Indi- 
ans, and rendered almost impregnable both by nature and art. 
Struck with astonishment at the object before him, he took 
up his position, and put forth all the etforls of his genius to 
accomplish his purpose. 

In the mean time, the army under Gen. Amherst was ear- 
ly in motion, the fortresses of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, 
became the trophies of his victories ; the garrisons had retir- 
ed to the Isle Au Noix, and waited his approach. 

The Gen. advanced to the attack, but finding the position 
too strong, and the season far advanced, retired to Crown- 
Point, and took up bis winter quarters, without having learn- 
ed the fate of Gen. Wolfe. Not so with Wolfe — he spun out 
the season with various efforts ; but his prospects were so 
faint that the energies of his mind began to abate ; the insur- 
mountable obstacles opposed to the ardor of his spirits, wast- 
ed his health, and the approach of winter led him to despair 
of success. 

He called a council of war, in which it was resolved to car- 
ry their future operations above the town, and if possible, 
force the French general, Montcalm, to an engagement. Ac- 
cordingly the fleet moved with the tide, in the silence of 
night, up the river, passed the city, and with unprecedented 
alacrity and skill, the whole army was landed, and conducted 
up a precipice by their gallant general, in the dead of night ; 
a precipice considered almost impassable by an individual in 
the light of day. 

On the approach of morn, the whole British army were 
formed on the plain, with their general at their head. The 
enemy soon had intelligence of their position, and Montcalm 
marched out of his strong camp to give him battle. 

21 



242 FALL OP QUEBEC. 

The regulars, of Frs^ce, with the Canada militia, commen- 
ced a distant fire, accompanied with the hiedous yells of their 
numerous Indian allies, and appeared to be able to over- 
whelm with numbers this hero, with his litlle phalanx. Gen- 
eral Wolfe took the precaution to reserve his fire, and receive 
the enemy at the distance of about forly paces ; he thea 
opened a tire upon them which checked their career ; this, 
when renewed, threw them into disorder ; again, when re- 
peated, threw them into flight; at this critical moment fell 
the illustrious Wolfe, the hero of the plains of Abraham — the 
cry of " Ihey run,^^ reached his ear ; he raised his head and 
asked who run? The reply was, ^^ the enemy run^^ — ^he ex- 
claimed then I die in peace, and expired. 

The gallant general Murray took vengeance on the fugi- 
tives with the bayonet, and the highland broadsword ; the 
gallant Montcalm was mortally wounded ; the plains of Abra- 
ham were strewn with the carnage of the dead and the dying. 
The victors pursued and threatened to enter the city com- 
mixed with th e fugitives, and in the midst of triumph to have 
planted their standards upon the walls of Quebec ; but they 
checked their career, and in five days the city fell by capitu- 
lation. 

Thus fell Quebec, the key of French America, and thus 
fell great Wolfe, at thirty five years of age, the pride and or- 
nament of his country, and his country's arms. This was 
not the triumph of Wolf over Montcalm, not the triumph of 
conquest over the fall of a city, however strong the fortress, 
nor the triumph of England over France. The God of our 
Fathers stood arbiter of the scene, and wielded the destiny, 
The triumph, was the triumph of reformation ; religion over 
superstition, patriotism, over tyranny, and liberty over des- 
potism. It was the triumph of the church in the wilderness ; 
it was the triumph of the motto of our fathers ; " Qm* tran- 
dulit sustinet f^ (He who transplanted sustains.) By the fall 
of Quebec, protestantism, triumphed over popery, and the 
colonies were free. 

The French again put forth their efforts to suppress the 
growing power of England, in India ; the conflicts were sharp 
and desperate, but the English were triumphant. The French 
abetted a conflict of rivalry between the Dutch and English 
in India, but the English were again triumphant. 

These multiplied successes of England depressed the spir- 
its of the French ; they in their turn like the English, had re- 



CAPTURE OF MONTREAL, kc. 243 

course to the expedient of invasion to rouse the spirits of the 
nation. Boats and small craft were assembled in the ports 
of France, and formidable preparations made for the desired 
object ; but the vigilance and superiority of the English navy, 
rendered abortive all such plans and triumphed over the fleets 
of France successively, as they put to s£a. 

These naval victories, added to the triumphs in America 
and India, raised the spirit of England, and shewed them 
where their true strength lay, viz. in cherishing the wars of 
the continent by liberal supplies, and following their naval 
and commercial system. Three million sterling were voted 
by way of subsidy in Germany, and twenty five thousand 
troops to protect the electorate of Hanover, and support the 
kine of Prussia. 

New operations commenced in Canada, with the opening 
of the spring ; that part of the army of Montcalm, which filed 
offjowards Montreal, in the victory of general Woll'e, were 
there reinforced by Canadians and Indians, under the com- 
mand of Monsieur de Levi, who had succeeded Montcalm in 
the command. With this force, the French general concert- 
ed measures to recover the city of Quebec, 

He embarked his army in the month of April, with all his 
artillery, under the convoy of six stout frigates, fell down the 
river, af»d appeared beft>re Quebec. The garrison under the 
commafid of the brave general Murray, which in autumn 
consisted of five thousand men, was now redu(*ed to three. 
With this snjali but intrepid force, general Murraj^ marched 
Hut en the ffiiilsisi of Ahrahr.ta» acd gave the enemy batde ; 
biit overpowered by numbers, he was compelled to reiire, 
with the loss of one thousand men. This eflbrt gave a check 
to the en( my, and spirit to the garrison ; a vigorous siege 
and defence coaimenced. A fleet from England, arrived in 
the month of June, put an end to the sie^e. and the French 
genera! retired to M ajdreal. 

DiJ-inif these operations, Gen. Amherst concerted meas- 
ures f ;r (he reduc'tiun of Montreal. He gave orders to gene- 
ral Mirray to embark his army a(lQ:iebec, proceed by wa- 
t'.r, and meet him ai Montreal. He directed one operation 
fiirainst the Isle Au Noix ; another upon the enemy by the 
wayof Osweiro. and took the direction himself of Lake Cham- 
plain, with his wh )le army ; the movements all succeeded, 
iiiiil geKc.'-als Amherst and Murray apppeared the same day 



244 PEACE OF PARIS, 1763. 

before Monfreal, and the detachment arrived the next day 
from the Isle Au Noix, 

The city was summoned, a capitulation signed, and De- 
troit, Michilimachinac, and every other French military post 
or depot were surrendered to the arras of his Britanic Majesty 
— the French troops were returned to France, and the Cana- 
das cleared. 

This blow sealed the fate of France in America, and left 
her nothing but the pitiful subterfuge of exciting the mur- 
derous tomahawk and scalping knife of the Cherokees, 
against the colony of South Carolina. This was soon sup- 
pressed by spirited exertions ; the Cherokees punished, their 
towns burnt, and these savages humbled. 

The town of New Orleans stood alone to France a solitary 
monument of all her vast possessions in America. The war 
in India still raged, and the successes of the English the last 
year, excited them to attempt the conquest of Pondicherry, 
which was taken from the French, 1761. In the midst of 
these triumphs died George II. and' was succeeded by hie 
grandson George III. 

Wiih the conquest of Conada, and the suppression of the 
Cherokees, the war closed in America. The British forces 
returned to England, excepting such as were necessary to 
garrison the irjilitary posts in Canada, and upon the frontier ; 
and the colonies were left to pursue their domestic repose, en- 
joy tiieir commerce, and extend their settlements. The 
peace of Paris, in 1763, closed the war in Europe, America 
and India, and all Christendom was again hushed tC rcpG;^. 

T^C ^:::I:^:;.«i ucro leafRt one most important lesson this war, 

thaf wa.-", iiow to unite their discordant interests, and render 

private considerations subservient to the general good. A 

'csfion; which iiuthing but the disasters of the first campaigns 

ould h;>^ve taught, an^! brought them to practice. This les- 

n, Vne pcJi^y of the English government continued to cul- 
iV'*^': and strengthen, by checking and controlling the spirit 
.{ rome of the colonies, which appeared too independent in 
iiieir governments, and in withdrawing their charters, and 
^eriding over governors appointed by the crown. 

This soon sowed the seeds of jealousy between the crown 
anel eojonies, which began to ripen early into indignation and 
resentment, by frequent and severe collisions, between the 
iveople and the governors, accompanied with spirit, and some- 
innei outrage. 



CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 245 

CHAP. XXXVII. 

Causes which led to the American Revolution— general events 
to the invasion of New-York. 

The rapid setflemenfs and population, toirether with the 
prosperous commerce of the colonies, united to that ardent 
active spirit of enterprize, which had shone so conspicuous 
through the war, be^an to excite the attention of England. — . 
Tiiey foresaw, that such a combination of power, would at 
some future day become independent, and that then was the 
time to put on the shackles to check and contronl it. With 
this view, they commenced a system of taxation, by duties 
on commerce in 1764, and on stamps in 1705, under the t!at- 
terins pretext of raising suj)plies, to indemnify the expenses 
of the war. 

The colonies resented this infringement upon their rights, 
resisted the encroachments by spirited remonstances, and 
adopted this maxim : " that taxation without representation, 
was an infringement of liberty ; their demand was — "with- 
draw your taxes, and leave the fiscal concerns of Ameri- 
ca, (or the colonies,) to be conducted upon the floor of their 
own councils ;" here they were at issue. Sprung from one 
common stock, the same blood flowed in the veins, the 
same spirit fired the br.east of both parties — and this was the 
result : 

"Virginia resisted by spirited resolves, May, 1765. 

Virginia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New- 
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and 
South-Carolina, sent a representation and formed a colonial 
Congress at New York, October, 1765. 

This, like the grand assembly at Albany, gave union, 
strength, and spirit to the colonies ; tumults commenced in 
Boston, and spread through the country ; acts of non impor- 
tation were passed, which lessened the imports from Britain 
this year, 880,621Z. 1766. 

At this time a general estimate of free white population in 
the colonies was 926,000, extended on the sea coast, from 
Georgia to the province of Maine. The dignitied and manly 
resistance of the colonies, caused the repeal of the duties on 
stamps, 1766. 

Also a repeal of the duties on paper and glass* June. ^'^^• 
21* 



246 CAUSES OP THK REVOLUTIONARY WAR; 

These partial repeals of duties, strengthened the confi- 
dence, and increased the energies of the colonies. Circular 
letters, tumults, &c. became the order of the day general- 
ly in, ' 1768, 

Acts of non-importation became general in, 1769. 

The British force stationed at Boston fired on the popu- 
lace, and caused the famous massacre of Boston, 1770. 

This outraa^e spread such a flame through the colonies, 
that the British government repealed all the taxes this year 
excepting the duly of 3d per pound on tea. This led to as- 
sociations through the colonies, not to drink tea ; and all 
who violated these associations, were held and considered as 
lories and Irailors. 

Au armed schooner belonging to the British, was burnt by 
a mob in dis^siuise at Rhode-Island, 1771. 

'i'ca sent hack by some colonies, 1772. 

A cargo of tea was seized in the port of Boston by a n^ob 
la disguise, and thrown into the dock, 1773. 

Upon the news of this, the government of England sent out 
a naval and land force, and took possession of the port of 
Boston, under the command of Gen. Gage, 1774. 

The colonies, fired with indignation at this outrage on their 
libertie?, assembled a general Congress at Philadelphia, and 
elected Peyton Randolph, President, and Charles Thomson, 
Secretary, September 5, 1774 

Congress passed several resolutions highly important to 
the interest of the colonies, and dissolved, October 26. 

They were now resolved to repel force by force, and an 
action commenced at Lexington and Concord, between a 
detachment of the British forces in Boston, and a scattered 
collection of militia of those places ; the British, galled by a 
scattering fire from the stone walls, hedges and other coverts 
made a hasty retreat into Boston, and left the field to the vic- 
tors, April 19, 1775. 

The news of this conOict spread like lightning through the 
country : hill illumined hill, and man electerized man. The 
heroes of the old war. left their teams in the field, and their 
ploughs standing in the furrows, and in their rustic dress, re- 
paired to the field of action, and enrolled themselves in the 
ranks of (heir country. 

The mad councils of England, and frantic system of their 
iii'L^vy^.gg }jad now armed the nation against itself. Here com- 



CONGRESS OP 1774. 247 

menced a sanjruinary conflict of liberty against usurpation, 
on those very fields which the fathers (driven by the perse- 
cutions of tiieir own country) had wrested from the savages 
of the forest, and where they had planted the pure seeds of 
the reformation one hundred and fifty years before ; here the 
sons of those sires were summoned to arms in defence of 
their altars, their arms and their firesides, to repel the mur- 
derous dominion of Britain : the conMict was desperate, but 
the issue was glorious. 

Without arms or discipline, without money, without credit, 
without allies, without military stores, and without union ; — • 
with a scattered population, not then exceeding one million ; 
the sons of the puritans entered tlie lists with the gigantic 
power of Britain, then mistress of the seas, and arbiter of the 
world. 

Their first step was, to collect an army ; this was eflfccted 
by an assemblage of the militia of the vicinity generally, and 
by detachments from the militia of the neighboring states, 
and next from the colonies generally. The English were in- 
vested in the town of Boston, under the command of Gen. 
Ward, and at the same time he sent ofif a detachment, and 
seized Fort Ticonderoga, May 10th, 1775. Their next step 
was to promote union. A Con«;ress was elected from all 
the colonies, and assembled in Philadelphia, May 10th, 1775. 
The resolves of this congress will ever stand on the historic 
page, a splendid monument of the wisdom, firmness, dignity 
and spirit of the American character. 

They settled the fundamental principles of union, action 
and support; and upon the motion of two members to enter 
their protest against the measures of the congress, the spirit 
of the day was expressed by that old patriot, Samuel Adams 
of Boston: "I should advise persisting in our struggle for 
liberty, though it were revealed from heaven, that nine hun- 
dred and ninety-nine were to perish, and only one of a thou- 
sand to survive, and retain his liberty. One such free man, 
must possess more virtue, and enjoy more happiness, than 
one thousand slaves — let him propagate his like, and transmit 
to them, what be hath so nobly preserved." This was a fair 
sample of the general spirit of congress, and of the nation. 

During these transactions, great efforts were made, both in 
America and England, to effect a reconciliation, and heal the 
differences. The earl of Chatham stood forth in parliament, 
the champion of yirtue, and his country's interest ; his rea~ 



•i^^ BATTLE OF BUNKER'S HILL. 

soninsc was pure, nervous and forcible, and to an audience 
with hearts open to conviction, would have been irresistible ; 
but it was lost upon parliament, and with it, was lost the col- 
onies. 

Congress now assumed the style of the twelve United Col- 
onies, June 7, arsd elected George Washington, of Virginia, 
commander in chief of the American arujies, Jiine 15th; he 
accepted the command, and repaired to Cambridge. The 
congratulations which he received, and his ditinified replies, in- 
ter* sted the feelings, confidence and affections of the nation. 

Method, order and discipline began to be felt throus^h the 
army, and the enenjy were completely invested in Boston. 
Congress at this time published a declaration, by the way of 
manifesto, unfolding to the world, the causes of the contest 
— and the resolutions of the colonies. They drew and sign- 
ed a petition to the king, and an address to the inhabitants of 
England ; recommended the general forming and training 
the militia, throuithout the colonies, and a detachment of one 
fourth as minute men, for all sud<len emergencies ; and cal- 
led the attention of the colonies to their armed vessels, and 
the defence of their se^iports. 

They established a general post-office, to extend from 
Georgia to Maine, and appointed Benjamin Franklin post- 
master general : they also established a hospital for 20,000 
men. These general outlines being settled, all parties pre- 
pared for action. 

The torch of war was again kindled by the destructive bat- 
tle of Bunker's Hill, and the conflagration of Charlestown. 
The flames flashed through the country, kindled afresh the 
spirit of patriotism, and the ardor of revenge ; and the pub- 
lic feeling was alive to the contest, from Georgia to Maine. 
This was one of the most important battles in the American 
revolution. 

The operations in the siege of Boston, were changed info 
a regular approach, for the purpose of attempting a general 
attack ; and at the same time an expedition was formed, and 
sent up the Kennebec river into Canada, under Col. Arnold, 
to co-operate with the main army, which were advancing by 
the way of lake Champiain anrl Montreal, under Gen. Mont- 
gomery, to reduce the city of Quebec. General Gage retir- 
ed from the command of Boston, and Gen. Howe succeeded 
him, Sept. 1775. 

The destruction of the town of Falmouth, by the British, on 



EVACUATION OF BOSTON. 249 

the eastern shores of Massachusetts, again kindled the flames 
of revenue, October, 1775; and the ardor of the occasion 
was seized, for an attack on Boston. To facilitate the ope- 
rations, several rich store ships from England, laden with ord- 
nance, small arms, camp equipage and military stores, were 
captured by the Americans, and conveyed to the army. 

Durins; these movements, the army, destined to the cap- 
ture of Canada, under Gen. Montgomery, proceeded by the 
way of Lake Champlain, took Montreal, (November 15th,) 
and the other mihtary posts in its vicinity — proceeded down 
the river, and joined Col. Arnold, about the 1st December; 
they commenced an attack upon the city by assault : it fail- 
ed — and Gen. Montgomery fell in the attempt. The siege 
was continued, and the array reinforced from Montreal and 
the states ; where they suflfered severely by the small pox, 
and the severities of winter. In the month of May, they 
abandoned the siege, upon the arrival of succor from Eng- 
land, and returned to Montreal. 

General Washington, in the spring, erected a redoubt upon 
Dorchester heights, and threatened to b )mbard Boston. — 
This approach excited alarm, and Gen. Howe made immedi- 
ate preparations to evacuate the town : he assembled his 
fleet, embarked his troops, and set sail for Halifax. 

General Washington, penetrating the design of the enemy, 
drew ofl* his army, retired to New- York, and made prepara- 
tions to receive him ; passed over with his army to Long-Isl- 
and, and fortified the Narrows, to prevent the passage of the 



CHAP, xxxvm. 

Revolution continued to the capture of Gen. Prescoty at Rhode- 
Island, September y mi. 

About the first of January, 1776, the Liverpool frigate ar- 
rived oS* Norfolk, (Virginia) from England, and laid that rich 
commercial town in ashes ; and in the month of February, 
the British began their depredations in North-Carolina and 
Georgia, which were serious in their operations and conse- 
quences. In the month of June, a strong British naval force 
made an attack upon Charleston (S. C.) ; they were opposed 
with great firmness, and obliged to abandon the enterprise, 
with severe loss. 



250 CAPTURE OF KEW YORK. 

Gen. Clinton and Lord Cornwallis expected to have land- 
ed a strong force, and commenced their southern conquests 
at this time ; but the severe losses sustained by their fleet, 
defeated the enterprise, and they retired to New York, In 
the month of August, lord Dunmore sent off his negro booty, 
of about 1000, to Bermuda, withdrew from Virginia, and re- 
paired to New-York. 

On the 12lh of July, lord Howe arrived at the Hook from 
England, by the way of Halifax, with a i5eet and reinforce- 
ments, and charged with a commission to negociate separate- 
ly and individually with the states, for a return of peace. He 
made known the duties of the commissioners, to Gen. Wash- 
ington and to congress, and they were circulated through the 
country, in the public prints. Congress at the same time 
met the commission with a publication of the Declaration of 
Independence, which passed the 4th of July; the campaign 
was opened, and the armies put in motion. 

General Howe landed his army upon Long-Island, sup- 
ported by generals Clinton, Grant, earl Percy and lord Corn- 
wallis, and commenced his operations against Gen, Washing- 
ton, who had chosen this position, to cover New-York. 

The action of Flatbush, compelled General Washington to 
retire with loss, and under cover of the night, cross over into 
New- York. This he accomplished by a most masterly move- 
ment, without loss ; left a detachment for the protection of 
the city ; garrisoned the forts at ILiierlem and King^bridge, 
and made a stand. On the 15th of September, general Howe 
took possession of New-York, sn<j bcpin his operation*. 

General AVashington invested New-York until the 18th of 
October : he then abandoned his position, to defeat an enter- 
prise concerted by sieneral Howe, to cut off his communica- 
tion with New England, by landing a strong force in his rear. 
Gen. Washinjiton retired to White Piains, where he sustained 
an assault from eefjeral Howe, which was firmly resisted, 
and General Waehington retired to the high grounds, and 
took a slrona: position. Gen. Howe retired to Kingsbridge, 
commenced an attack upon the American forts, and carried 
by assault, such as were not abandoned by the Americans, 
and butchered the garrisons. 

The fidl of these posts opened the passage of the Hudson 
to general Howe ; Gen. Washington was compelled to cross 
over ioto New Jersey, and retired to Newark. The losses ia 



RETREAT OF GEN. WASHINGTON. 261 

the acUon at Flatbush, at White Plains, and in (he forts ; the 
departure of the Massachusetts nnilitia, whose term of service 
had expired ; and the gloomy state of the army, retreating 
before a strong victorious British force, rendered the Ameri- 
can cause desperate, at this eventful moment. 

General Washiniiton could assemble at Newark, only thir- 
ty five hundred troops, to support the cause of liberty against 
the whole British army, of about ten thousand. Even Gen. 
WashiniitoQ himself gave up all as lost, and with his most 
confid«/ntial officers, talked of retiring; hastily into Virginia, 
or beyond the Allejihany, for security. 

This scene was distressing ; a whole week passed before 
general Howe joined lord Cornwallis, and commenced his 
operations ; and during all this time, not one company, even 
of Jersey militia, joined the army. 

On the 28th of Nov. Gen. Washington retired from New- 
ark to Brunswick : lord Cornwallis entered it almost at the 
same hour ; Gen. Washington retired to Princeton : his lord- 
ship held his position at Brunswick according to orders. 

At this critical moment, the service of the Jersey and Ma- 
ryland brigades expired, and they withdrew against the most 
pressing remonstrances. 

October 7, Gen. Washington retired from Princeton, as lord 
Cornwallis entered it, and the next day his lordship entered 
Trenton, just as Gen. Washington had crossed the Delaware, 
about midnight. Gen. Washington secured the boats upon 
the Delaware, and prevented his lordship's pursuit. 

Lord Howe issued the proclamation of the king's commis- 
sioners, oflfering pardon and peace to all who should submit 
in sixty days. 

The low state of the army, and of the public feeling, ren- 
dered this proclamation highly alarming ai this time. Men 
of distinction, in great numbers, in that part of the country, 
embraced the overture, and made their submission. 

General Lee, who harrassed the rear of the British army 
with a small force, was surprised and taken Dec. 13, and the 
British boasted that they had taken the palladium of Ameri- 
ca, and considered the contest at a close. 

Under this pressure of distress, well might an army des- 
pond, reduced almost to a cypher, without pay, without 
clothes, without supplies, and staining the snow with their 
blood stained steps, as Hiey tied before the victorious enemy; 
well might their country despond, when they saw their liber- 



252 BATTLE OF TRENTON. 

ties waste away, and about to expire under the pressure of an 
overwhelming foe. 

At this eventful crisis, General Washington, by the assist- 
ance of general Mifflin, collected a body of Pennsylvania mi- 
litia, from Philadelphia and the interior, and gave support to 
his army. With this force, he resolved to strike a bold 
stroke, and attempt to recover the losses and spirits of the 
army, and of the nation ; accordingly, he took advantage of 
the enemy's not passing the river in their pursuit, and pre- 
pared to act on the offensive. 

On the night of the 25th of December, 1776, General 
Washington recrossed the Delaware under cover of a thick 
snow storm, and commenced an attack, — gained a signal vic- 
tory — put the enemy to flight — and took up his position at 
Trenton, with about one thousand prisoners, with all their 
camp utensils and arms. 

Upon the recovery of the enemy, under a strong reinforce- 
ment, General Washington sent off his prisoners into the 
country, and retired to Princeton ; where he exposed his per- 
son between two fires, repulsed the enemy, and pursued them 
to Brunswick. 

Lord Cornwallis assembled all his forces, made a bold stand 
and General Washington took up his position at Morristown. 
The depressed state of the army when they evacuated New- 
Jersey, had not only alarmed the nation, but congress ; and 
the sudden successes resulting from the affair at Trenton, had 
not only rekindled the spirit of the country, but called forth 
an act of congress, empowering general Washington" to col- 
lect sixteen thousand infantry, three thousand horse, three 
regiments of artillery, and a corps of engineers, appoint their 
officers and establish their pay : to call from all the states 
such militia as he shall judge necessary ; form such df^pots 
of magazines and stores as he may think proper ; to displace 
all officers under a brigadier, and fill all vacancies ; to take 
whatever he may want for the service, wherever he may be, 
paying reasonably therefor; and to confine all who shall re- 
fuse the paper currency ; all this for the term of six months." 

Despair had roused congress from their cautious security 
and the successes of Trenton and Princeton fully evinced, 
that under God, Washington must be the saviour of his coun- 
try. Thus light arose out of this thick darkness, and order 
out of this confusion, and the foundation was laid on which 
the liberty of America was secured. 



CAPTURE OF GEN. PRESCOT, 253 

The brutality of the British, had now roused the rndigna- 
(ion of New Jersey ; the fire of Lexington was a^ain rekind- 
led, and spread through the nation ; Lord Cornwallis was 
closely invested in his camp at Amboy, after being surprised 
and driven from Elizabethtown with great loss ; and the 
whole state were alive to the contest ; the state was general- 
ly cleared, and the winter passed without any important op- 
erations. 

During: these movements in New-Jersey, the American 
army nuder generals Gates and Arnold, retreated out of Can- 
ada, before sir Guy Carleton and general Burgoyne, which 
will be noticed under the northern expedition. 

Gen. Howe took the tif Idin person, and embarked the heavy 
baggage of the array from Amboy for New- York, and prepar- 
ed to revenise the sffair of Trenton upon Gen. Washington ; 
he made a feint to embark his army, and by a sudden move- 
ment, recalled the troops, formed and commenced a sudden 
attack upon a detachment of the American army ; but was 
compf'lled to retire with loss, and embark his army on to 
Staten Island, June 30, 1777. 

Thus ended the expedition into Jersey, an expedition in 
which when viewed in its operations and effects, it must be 
evident to all, the hand of God was most conspicuously dis- 
played for the salvation of the American cause; turning the 
councils of her enemies into foolishness, and out of weakness 
bringing: forth strength. 

Tryon, the tory governor of New York, made an attempt 
with a strong force from New York, in the month of A{Mil,to 
destroy the American stores at Danbwry, and succeeded gen- 
erally ; the party was severely harassed by general Wooster, 
who fell with glory in pursuing the enemy, and by yreneral 
Arnold, who distinguished himself in this affair. Governor 
Trycm embarked his force, and returned to JNew Yt^rk. 

General Howe remained in Nt^w York, assembled his fleet, 
selected a detachment of his best troops, making a strong 
and well appointed force, with ordnance and stores for a dis- 
tant expedition, embarked on board his fleet, and fell down 
to the Hook. 

At this time, whilst general Howe was manoeuvering with 
his fleet to deceive the American general with regard to his 
destination, a party of volunteers and militia under colonel 
Barton, passed over on to Rhode Island, surprised Gen. Pres- 



254 EXPEDITION TO PHILADELPHIA. 

cot in bis quarters at Newport, and brought him off safe, with 
one of his aids. Gen. Prescot, with a strong British force, 
had taken possession of Newport in December, 1776, about 
the time of the battle of Trenton. 

The expedition of Gen. Howe now claims our attention. 



CHAP. XXXIX. 

Revolt (lion continued, from the expedition of general Howe to 
PhUadelphia^ September Mil, to the battle of Camden in 
JVorth Carolina, 

In 1777, general Howe iBmbarked about sixteen thousand 
troops on board his fleet at New-York, and put to sea upon a 
secret expedition. General Washington detached the flower 
of the American army, into the state of New Jersey, to watch 
his motions, and to be in readiness to cover Philadelphia. 

General Howe, after several movements with his fleet up- 
on the coast, entered the Chesapeake bay, and landed his 
troops at the ferry of Elk. General Washington advanced to 
meet him; an action was fought at Chad's-Ford, September 
11 th, and general Howe was successful ; general Washington 
retired, and after several days manoeuvering, general Howe 
entered Philadelphia, September 26th, and congress remov- 
ed to Lancaster. 

On the 4th of October, the action of Germantown was 
fought, with a detachment of the British ; the Americans 
were successful, and the detachment retired to Philadelphia, 
where they were closely invested through the winter. The 
American army was, at this time, in the most distressed situ- 
ation ; without clothes, shoes, stockings, and even breeches 
and blankets : more than two thousand were marched with- 
out shoes, through frost and snow, leaving the traces of their 
march by their blood. 

During these movements, lord Howe moved his fleet round 
into the Delaware — which occasioned the conflicts of fort 
Mifflin and Red bank ; and the protection of the fleet, secur- 
ed the communication with the sea. 

During these operations, general Burgoyne had been sent 
out from England, to Canada, with a strong force to co-ope- 
rate with the British forces at New- York, and form a junction 



CAPTURE OF GEN. BURGOYNE. 256 

afc Albany. Sir Guy Carlton, with the aid of general Bur- 
goyne, soon recovered Canada — and the American army re- 
tired by the way of lake Champlain. General Burgoyne 
pursued, and appeared on the plains of Saratoga, (state of 
New York,) in the month of October : at the same time, a 
detachment of the naval and land forces at New-York, pro- 
ceeded up the river, and burnt the town of Esopus. This 
again excited the public feeling. 

The successful action of Bennington, against a detachment 
of the army of Burgoyne, had given hisih spirits in that vicini- 
ty ; the American army under genera! Gates, was reinforced 
with fresh drafts of mililia, and was soon able to invest gene- 
ral Burgoyne in his camp, at Saratoga. Alarmed at his criti- 
cal situation, he attempted to retire ; this was impracticable 
—the Americans had destroyed all the bridges : he next pro- 
posed to give battle — this became desperate ; the Ameri- 
cans were strong, their spirits were high, and their attacks 
were sharp and desperate. Struck with astonishment, gene- 
ral Burgoyne proposed to surrender ; a capitulation was 
signed, and the whole British army laid down their arms, and 
became prisoners of war, October 16, 1777. 

The general depression which had alarmed the public 
mind, during these formidable operati )nsj was removed at a 
blow : again a general impulse was given to the public feel- 
ing : the plan of severing the eastern and western, (or south- 
ern) states, fell with the fall of Burgoyne, and new energies 
and new efforts were diffused through the nation. A success 
so novel, and yet so important, humbled the pride of Britain, 
in her councils — gave a lustre to the American arms at home 
and abroad, and closed the campaign of 1777. 

France, Spain and Holland now became parties in the war. 
In the course of the winter, commissioners from England ap- 
peared at Philadelphia, with artful terms of accommodation, 
to weaken the union and energies of America : these were 
properly treated. At the opening of the spring, sir Henry 
Clinton, seeing no advantage resulting from his position at 
Philadelphia, prepared to return to Nevv York. 

About the 1st of June, 1778, sir Henry Clinton evacuated 
Philadelphia, and took up his march. General Washington 
pressed close upon his rear: both armies were about ten 
thousand strong. At Monmouth, in New-Jersey, general 
Washington came up with sir Henry, and ordered general 
Lee, at the head of the advance guard, to commence an at- 



266 NAVAL ACTION OFF NEWPORT. 

tack, for the purpose of a general action, and assured him of 
his support with the main army. The failure of this attack, 
by Gen. Lee's doubtful movements, caused the failure of the 
action. Gen. Lee was tried by a court martial, which depriv- 
ed him of his command. Sir Henry withdrew in the ni{£ht, 
and the Americans who had laid on their arms impatient for 
the attack in the morning, were disappointed of their hopes. 

Sir Henry retired by forced marches to Sandy Hook^ 
where he was met by the fleet under lord Howe, embarked 
his army and p&ssed into New York, July 5. 

At this time a French fleet arrived at Delaware bay, for 
fhe purpose of blockading the British squadron ; learning 
their departure for New- York, they pursued and arrived off 
the hook, where they received a communication from gene- 
ral Washington, with a request to repair to Newport, and co- 
operate widi the AmericanSj in reducing the British force un- 
der general Prescott. They repaired to Newport, according- 
ly — the British fleet slipped their cables, put to sea, and met 
the French ; an action commenced — both fleets were severe- 
ly shattered : the English withdrew, and retired to New York, 
and the French to Boston, to refit, and from thence to the 
West-Indies ; the attack upon Rhode-Island failed. 

Sept. 1779, a French fleet of 20 sail of the line, frigates, 
SfC. was destined against the Island of Grenada, (in the West- 
Indies.) At the request of Gen. Lincoln, who was then post- 
ed at Charleston, (S. C.) Count De Estaing, the French 
Admiral, repaired to the American coast, and co operated 
v»ith Gen. Lincoln, in an attempt to dislodge the English 
from Savannah ia Georgia. This was the first foreign aid 
the Americans had received, excepting the attempt upon 
Rhode Island in 1778, and opened the way for future, and 
more important operations. 

The attempt failed, and the French Admiral withdrew 
from the American c jast, and repaired to bis station in the 
West Indies. Sir Henry Clinton, upon the departure of the 
French fleet, resumed his southern enterprise, and dispatch- 
ed admiral Arbuthnot on the 26th of December 1779, with a 
squadron, detached from the fleet at New York, to recover 
the losses of 1776, at Ciiar^leston. For this purpose he also 
embarked a land force of 7000 men, under his command, 
accompanied by lord Cornwallis, to sieze on the city of 
Charleston, (S. C.) and subdue the southern states. 



captche of Charleston, s. c. 257 

Sir Henry proceeded to his destined port, landed his troops, 
and carried the city of Charleston by a regular siege. The 
garrison, under the brave Gen. Lincoln, made a dignified de- 
fence, but were overpowered by a conimandinij superiority 
of force, and made prisoners of war, March 4, 1780. 

The illustrious Gen. Greene, was detached to the southward, 
to counteract this formidable expedition. Lord Cornwailia 
penetrated into South-Carolina, and the cavalry attached to 
the expedition, under the command of Lieut. Col. Tarlton, 
scoured and ravaged the country. 

At this time the affairs of America had again become des- 
perate. The hard winter of 1780, set in with all its severity, 
immediately upon the departure of the expedition ; and the 
privations and distresses of the army under Gen. Washington, 
were inexpressible through the winter and spring ; a mutiny 
ensued, and the cause of liberty was in danger of being lost 
forever. 

Gen. Greene wrote Gen. Washington from Maryland, that, 
" the want of money, supplies, horses, &.c. would render it 
impossible to provide for the march of the Maryland troops." 
These embarrassments greatly retarded the southern opera- 
tions. 

During this distressing period, the young Marquis La Fay- 
ette, arrived at head quarters, from France ; the tidings he 
brought gave new spirits to Gen. Washington, and to Con- 
gress. On his passage from Boston to France, he narrowly 
escaped a conspiracy, formed to assassinate him, by some 
British sailors on board the ship. Through his personal ef- 
forts in France, he negociated for America, supplies adapted 
to her wants ; and announced that a fleet and armament 
would soon follow him from France. 1% 

Congress immediately resolved, " that bills be immediate- 
ly drawn on Dr. Franklin, minister at Paris, for twenty five 
thousand dollars, and on Mr. Jay, minister at Madrid, for 
twenty five th )usand dollars, and the money applied to the 
immediate benefit of the armies." 

The darkness which hung over the political horizon of 
America, was dispelled by this auspicious event ; extensive 
arrangements w^ re made to fill up the armies by regulars, and 
militia, and supi)lies were extensively collected. At the 
same time, the artns of Lonl Corowallis sp: -ad terror, and 
consternation throughout ti-e southern states; >^outh-Caro)ina, 
fell in regular succession, into a state of submission to the 

22* 



258 BATTLE OF CAMDEN, 

arms of the conqueror, and its inhabitants were acknowledged 
and protected as British subjects, under a regular government. 

Durino^ these operations, Sir Henry Clinton set sail for 
New York with part of the forces, »nd left Lord Cornwallis 
with 4000 regulars, to finish the conquest of the south. Up- 
on the capture of Gen. Lincoln, Gen. Gates, then in Virginia, 
was appointed to succeed him, and immediately repaired to 
his command. 

Amongst the distressing embarrassments of the nation at 
this time, the depreciated paper money was not one of the 
least : to obviate this, congress made an effort to call in by 
taxes, two hundred million of dollars, and burnt it, and redeem 
it by a new emission at the rate of one dollar for twenty. 
This plan succeeded, and thousands of the best patriots of the 
nation were ruined by the depreciated redemption of a cur- 
rency, they had endeavored to support at par. At this time 
Mr. Adams left London (where he had been sent in 1776 to 
negociate a peace,) and went by the way of Spain to Holland, 
to bring to a close the plans of alliance and commerce, 
which had been two years in agitation. 

Lord Cornwallis having overrun South-Carolina, and set- 
tled a system of government, began to penetrate into North- 
Carolina. The army under Gen. Gates were so miserably 
supplied with men and stores, that they maintained a feeble 
resistance, and with an army of four thousand, (less than one 
thousand of which were continental troops) he directed his 
march for Camden in North Carolina. 

Lord Cornwallis having reached Camden the day before, 
(unknown to general Gates) concerted an attack upon general 
Gates in the night, in his camp at Clermont. At the same 
time, both armies began their march, viz ; about half past 2 
o'clock in the morning. Their advance parties met in the 
woods : a conflict ensued — upon the first shock the Ameri- 
cans fell into some disorder ; this was soon recovered, and 
skirmishing continued through the night : when the morning 
appeared, both parties being informed of their situation by 
their captives, anxiously waited the issue. 

An action soon commenced ; the field was contested with 
various success : the bayonets of the British carried the day; 
the regular troops were firm, but the militia fled, and dispers- 
ed as they fled — never to be recovered. The general and his 
regulars were abandoned to their fate. 

Several parties of militia, who were advancing io join the 



GENERAL OPERATIONS. 259 

army, turned (heir arms against the fugitives, and thus com- 
pleted the overthrow. The pursuit continued for more than 
twenty miles, and the road was strewed wilh the fragments 
of this routed army, the wounded, the dead, and the dying. 
Such was the general panic through the neighboring country, 
that a party of horse, supported by more than one hundred 
infantry, and at the distance of more than eighty miles from 
the scene of action, upon the first intelligence, sought safety 
by flight. 

The losses of his lordship, his want of supplies, and the 
sickly season, all constrained him to give over his pursuit, 
and remain at Caa)den, and pursue bis plan of forcing and or- 
ganizing the submission of the state of North Carolina ; the 
more effectually to accomplish this, he seized all such princi- 
pal characters as were firm to their country, and sent them 
prisoners to Charleston and St. Augustine, and secured their 
fetfects. 



CHAP. XL. 

Revolution continued to the capture of Lord Cornwallis at 
York Town, October, 1781. 

The cavalry under Col. Tarlton continued to ravage the 
country, burning, plundering, and destroying all in their way, 
sparing neither whig nor tory. Operations continued by de- 
tached parties, and wilh some success to the Americans. 
Lord Cornwallis made a retrograde movement to strengthen 
his position, and general Gates put forth all his efforts to col- 
lect an army to oppose him ; but his efibrts were not very 
successful; he moved from Hillsborough, and took up his 
head quarters at Charlotte. At this time general Greene ar- 
rived, disclosing his commission from his excellency general 
Washington, and took the command ; general Gates retired, 
and the distresses of North Carolina continued. 

During these operations at the southward, great and per- 
plexing difficulties had nearly ruined the army under general 
Washington. The frequent changes in the army, owinti to 
short enlistments, the want of discipline amongst the raw 
troops, the want of pay, clothing, provisions, &,c. had repeat- 
edly distressed the army, and were at last accompanied with 
the revolt of the whole Pennsylvania line. 



26@ DEFEAT OP COL. TARLTON. 

In defiance to all the efforts of general Wayne, and all the 
other officers, they seized on six pieces of artillery, took op 
their innrch, and repaired to Princeton. Sir Henry Clinton, 
upon the first intelligence, made some important movements 
from Staten Island, and sent spies at the same time to coun- 
tenance and encoura;2;e the revolt in his name, with very fa- 
vorable proposals. Tiiis was jnot their object : they were 
patriotic, but determined to be heard. 

A committee from congress waited upon the mutineers, at 
Princeton, and by liberal assurances, endeavored to purchase 
their return to duty ; general Washington sent a strong de- 
tachment to enforce obedience ; and they returned to their 
duty. A general arrangement was made by congress, to sup- 
ply the armies, both by foreign and domestic aid awd resources. 

The war raged in the south with various success : general 
Greene took the command of only 2,307 men, without clothes, 
or magazines, and without discipline ; subsisting on daily col- 
lections, in the heart of a disaffected country, and in the face 
of a victorious enemy. 

Lord Cornwallis, on tlse receipt of a reinforcement of 1,500 
men, commenced his operations, and advanced. — Col. Tari- 
ton was detached, to dislodge general Morgan from his posi- 
tion at the Cowpens : he commenced his movements with 
his usual impetuosity, and traversed the country for several 
days, laying waste every thing in his course, until he arrived 
at Morgan's position : an action commenced with the same 
impetuosity, and with signal success — the Americans were 
dislodged, and thrown into disorder ; but they rallied to the 
charge, and were victorious in their turn : Tarlfon was de- 
feated, his army routed and destroyed, his artillery and bag- 
gage captured ; and he, with the mounted fugitives, fled to 
lord Cornwallis, January 17, 1781. 

This defeat roused up his lordship : he commenced a pur- 
suit, and the operations were such, as the flight of the Ameri- 
cans, and the rapid pursuit of his lordship, through a country 
thinly settled, (without intermission,) would necessarily pro- 
duce. 

Gen. Greene had the address to harrass his lordship in his 
fli.f^ht, and yet avoid a general action, until he halted at Guil- 
ford, near the confines of Vir.5inia, and gave him battle. 
The movements were well concerted ; and general Greene, 
with his 2000 men, had hopes of success, against his lord- 
ship's pursuing army, greatly superior. 



JiAtTLE OF CAMDEN. 261 

The conflict was sharp : the militia gave way— the regu- 
lars were overpowered, and general Greene drew off his ar- 
my in g:ood order, took a«tron2 position to collect the strag- 
glers, and comnienced his retreat. The severity of the ac- 
tion occasioned his hardship to make a hasty retrograde move- 
ment, to recover his losses. 

During these movements, the murderous sword of civil 
war, raged between whis: and tory, and threatened to depo- 
polate the country. At this time general Clinton detached a 
fieet with 1,500 troops, which entered the Chesapeake, land- 
ed their forces, and began the most alarming depredations in 
Virginia: several efforts were made to dislodge them, but 
without effect. General Greene made a movement to retiira 
to North Carolina, and carry the war into what had now be- 
come the enemy's country. 

He boldly adv^anced to Camden with his little army, and 
gave battle to Lord Rawdon, April, 1781 : a desperate con- 
flict ensued — victory for a long time held a doubtful balance : 
both parties withdrew, and left the field covered with the dead. 

On the 28th of April, general Greene thus expressed him- 
self to the French minister: " This distressed country, I am 
sure, cannot stru^ii^le much lonjiier, without more effectual 
support; they must fall, and I fear their fall, will sap the in- 
dependence of America. We fight, get beaten, rise, and 
fight aiiain — the whole country is one continued scene of 
blood and slaUiihter." 

After the battle of Camden, his lordship retired in his turn; 
general Greene advanced, carried the war into South Caroli- 
na, and by a desperate attack, was on the point of carrying 
by assault, the strong fortress of Ninety-six, the reduction of 
which would have recovered all South-Carolina, excepting 
Charleston. 

Ai this critical moment, appeared a reinforcement of one 
thousand seven hundred foot, and one hundred and fifty 
horse, which had arrived at Charleston, landed, and flew to 
the relief of the fortress. General Greene retired, and again 
invested his lordship in Camden ; not being sufficiently strong 
lo attack him, he made a movement towards Charleston ; 
this induced his lordship to leave his position, and with a de- 
tachment retire to Charleston, August, 1781. 

The war now raged in Virijinia, under the command of 
general Phillips. The marquis La Fayette, with a sm dl 
force, attempted to cover Richmond — but failed ; and the 



262 COUNCIL OF War. 

British entered the capital. Lord Cornwallis, after the ac- 
tion at Guilford, left general Greene to pursue his southern ex- 
pedition, and moved to Wihnin^ton ; from thence he com- 
menced a rapid march to Richmond in Virginia, to join gen- 
eral Phillips, and at a blow, reduce the state to obedience. 
Phillips had died ; but a reinforcement of 1,800 regulars join- 
ed his lordship at Richmond. 

The command devolved on his lordship ; and the young 
marquis La Fayette, with a litlle army of 3,000 men, was 
now destined to enter the lists with this victorious hero of the 
south. 

Flushed with his triumphs, his lordship in his communica- 
tion to sir Henry Clinton, thus expresses himself: " the boy 
cannot escape me." His lordship attempted to surprise the 
marqjis and bring him to an action — but without effect : he, 
with great adroitness, eluded his wiles, and held him at bay, 
until he was reinforced by a detachment from the north, un- 
der general Wayne, and the baron Steuben ; his lordship 
took up his quarters at Williamsburg, after having spread car- 
nage, terror and desolation through the states of South-Caro- 
lina and North-Carolina, (for one thousand miles,) and plant- 
ed his victorious standard in the heart of Virginia. 

At the commencement of these operations in the south, a 
French fleet under the command of the chevalier de Turney, 
with 6,000 men, under the command of count Rochambeau, 
arrived at Newport, Rhode Island, July 10, 1780. The town 
was illuminated, and the illustrious allies were received with 
every expression of respect, and grateful appluse. This 
was the fl^et, promised by the marquis La Fayette, when he 
returned from France, and which he had been the great in- 
strument of procuring. 

In the month of September, a conference was proposed by 
general Washington, to the French commander at JNewport, 
and they met at Hartford, in Connecticut. General Wash- 
ington was accompanied with the young marquis La Fayette, 
and general Knox. The avowed object of conference was, 
to concert measures for an attack upon the city of New York. 

In the midst of this conference, an express arrived from 
the fortress at West Point, on the Hudson, announcing the 
traitorous designs of general Arnold. The council was clos- 
ed — the parties retired to their posts, and general Washing- 
ton flew to the relief of West Point. On his arrival, he found 



MAJOR ANDRE. 263 

the cannon dismounted, and the fortress dismantled ; Arnold 
had fled, and taken refuge on board a British sioop of war, 
posted for the occasion. 

Whilst his excellency was employed in repairing the for- 
tress, a prisoner was announced, who proved to be the un- 
fortunate major Andre, who had voluiileered his services 
to sir Elenry Clinton, to negociate this trfr^cherous operation 
with general Arnohl. His character vva- that of a spy, his 
fate was death ! The just sacrifice greatly interested the 
feelings and touched tlie sympatijy of every American 
breast. 

His excellency, general Washington, repaired to head- 
quarters, and commenced his systrm of operations, to reduce 
the city of New York. An attack was contemplated by land, 
whilst the French fleet should blockade the city by sea. To 
this end, the French troops were landed at Newport, and 
proceeded by land, to New York : heavy cannon and mor- 
tars, left at the siege of Boston, in 1776, were transported at 
great expense, across the country to the Hudson river, and 
down to the army before New York. 

The public feeling was alive to the enterprise — the British 
collected their fleet, fortified the port and city of New York, 
and pul themselves in the best possible state of defence : the 
American army was strengthened by drafts of militia ; and 
upon the arrival of the French troops to join general Wash- 
ington, the French fleet at Newport, (having been reinforced 
from France,) put to sea. 

In New York, all was anxiety and alarm, and a momenta- 
ry atlack was expected. At this critical moment, general 
Washington, with the best troops of the army, in conjunction 
with the French troops, made a rapid movement into New- 
Jersey, and to Philadeiphia : the first regular intelligence of 
his movement, announced the allied army at the head of 
the river Elk, and the next, announced his arrival before 
York Town, in Virginia, where lord Cornwallis had retired, 
upon a junction of general Washington, with the Marquis La 
Fayette. 

At this critical juncture, the English fleet, stationed to pro- 
tect his lordship, had slipped their cables upon the approach 
of the French fif^et, met them at the mouth of the Chesa- 
peake, been beaten in a severe action, and fled to New York. 
The victorious French, sailed up the bay, to co-operate with 
the allies, in the reduction of York Town. 



264 CAPTURE OF LORD CORNWALLIS. 

The town was invested, the trenches were opened on the 
6th ofOctobei : the appr«taches w^ere rej^ubr, the cannonade 
terrible, and the resistauce desperate. The overwhelming 
destruction which bore down, wasted and destroyed the Brit- 
ish, forced his lordsbip to request a parley on the 18th, and 
on the \9'i'o, the articles of capitulation were signed, and his 
lordship, with his whole army, marched out, prisoners ofwar,^ 
Ocfobpr 20th, 1781. Thus fell this hero of the south, by ^ 
stratagem concerted at Hartford, Connecticut. 



CHAP. XLT. 

General affairs of America^ to the adoption and organization 
of the Federal Constitidion, March, 1789 — remarks. 

His Excellency Gt neral Washington closed the glorious 
scene at York Town, by puhlishins in his ti^eneral orders, the 
grateful effusions of his heart to the army, both officers and 
soldiers, and ordered the whole army to be assea)bled in 
brijjades and divisions, to attend divine service, and render 
lh"»nks to that God who had jiiven them the victory. 

Congress next passed a vote of thanks to general Wash- 
ington, count Rocliainbeau, count Degrasse, the otBcers of 
the different corps, and the men under their command : ap- 
pointed a day of general thanksgiving to Almighty God, 
throughout United America ; and moved in procession to 
the Dutch Luthrean church, and returned thinks to God, for 
this distinguished success. 

All Unite<l America resounded with grateful acclamations 
of joy, and every breast glowed with the warmest emotions 
of gratitude to the God of their fathers. 

Congress ordered a marble column to be erected in York- 
Town, adorned with emblems commemorative of the French 
and American alliance, and an inscription, expressing the 
surrender of the British arms. 

The several corps returned to their former stations, and 
his excellency general Washington repaired to Philadelphia, 
to give repose to liis mind, and to confer with congress upon 
the future exigencies of the nation. 

The French fleet, under count Degrasse, sailed for the 
West-Indies, ou the 5th of November, and the operations of 



NAVAL ACTION. 26 J 

Ihe seasons were generally closed. • Virginia, Norlh Carolina, 
and all South-Carolina, excentiug Charleston, were rucovcr- 
ed, and j^eneral order restored. 

The theatre of war was cow removed to the \yi2l, Indies, 
where France and Spain assembled a flett of six^y ships of 
the line, and spread a ?:;en.2ra! alarni throughout •;•» Biitish 
islands. This was opposed hy a British fleet of •qua!, force. 
One of the most desp» rate and sanjiuinary conflicts ensued 
then ever known, between the French uniler count Degrasse, 
and the English under sir George Rodney. Sir George un- 
der a press of sail, bore down upon the French lines ; the 
French nailed their colors to tlieir masts, and foui^ht witli 
desperation. Admiral Degrasse fought his ship, until only 
two men with himself reniidned, and then struck his colors. 
The English were victorious. The French sutfered the loss 
of three thousand killed, and twice as many wounded — the 
English suff*ered severely. This action was decisive in those 
seas, and the remains of the French and Spanish fleets with- 
drew. 

Congress pursued the plan of loans from France, Spain and 
Holland to prosecute the war : and through their ministers, 
liberal supplies were obtained. All further operations in 
South-Carolina ceased, and Charleston was evacuated on 
the 14th of December, 1782, with the most perfect order, and 
in two days the regular police of the city, and the govern- 
ment of the state were restored. The French troops, ren- 
dered so illustrious at the siege of York Town, now took up 
their march for Boston, where they embarked for France. 

We pass over the efforts of Spain to recover Gibraltar, af- 
ter the conquest of Blinorca, together with all further naval 
operations. 

The subject of peace now became general in Europe and 
America. Negociations were opened at Paris under Dr. 
Franklin and John Jay, as ministers of America ; and the 
count de Aranda, minister of Spain ; and tiie count de Ver- 
gennes on the part of France ; with Mr. Fitzherbert and Mr. 
Oswald, on the part of Great Britain. Mr. Adams was at 
this time negociating a commercial treaty with Holland. 

Many points labored ; the negociation spun out : the Eng- 
lish ministers could not be prevailed on to take the starting 
point, and acknowledge the independence of America, unlil 
they had sent to England, and received positive instruction^. 

The fisheries next labored with England, and France did 
23 



266 PEACE OF PARIS, 1783. 

not favor all the American demands upon this point. Dup- 
ing this struggle in this council, Mr. Adams left Holland, at 
the request of Mr. Jay, and repaired to Paris; and upon a 
consultation, they agreed to negociate with the British minis- 
ter separately, if the count de Vergennes did not yield to the 
American claims on the fisheries, kc. This movement suc- 
ceeded and brought the negociations to a favorable close. 

At this critical juncture, a new scene opened to the gener- 
al in chief The army before New York became infected 
with a general mutiny, founded upon a demand for arreara- 
ges of pay, and adequate indemnification for their services 
and sufi'erings, with sufficient guarantee, before they were 
disbanded. The general, alarmed at this dangerous conspi- 
racy, requested the general and field officers, with one officer 
from each company, and a proper representation from the 
staff of the army, to assemble on Saturday the 15th. He at 
the same time used all his influence to soften the violence of 
their passions. 

According to appointment the officers met, general Gates 
was appointed president : his excellency general Washington 
addressed the council in a short, but a o»ost pathetic and dig- 
nified speech, which touched their honors, their interest, and 
their hearts. They voted an address of thanks to his excel- 
lency, and retired, relying with full confidence on the assur- 
ances of his excellency, and the wisdom and liberality of con- 
gress : the mutiny was quelled. 

On the 24th of March, it was announced in congress, by a 
letter from the marquis la Fayette, bearing date Feb. 5, that 
a general peace had been signed at Paris. 

Congress settled the requirements of the army to their sat- 
^isfaction, and they were disbanded. On the 4th of April the 
treaty arrived in America ; general rejoicings resounded 
through the country. On the 25th of November, the British 
evacuated the city of New-York, and the Americans took 
possession with great dignity and good order. His excellen- 
cy general Washint£ton with hU principal officers, the gover- 
nor of New-York, SfC. advanced in procession, attended by 
a vast concourse of people, llie ceremony was conducted 
with great solemnity, and did honor to the occasion. 

When the festivity and hilarity of this interesting scene 
were closed, his excellency general Washington took an af- 
fectionate leave of the officers, who were his companions in 



RESIGNATION OF GEN. WASHINTON. 267 

arms, retired to Philadelphia, and exhibited his accounts to 
the controller, in his own hand writing. He then retired to 
Annapolis, where congress were then sitting (by adjourn- 
ment,) and on the 20th of December, 1783, resigned his com- 
mission as commander in chief. Congress being assembled, 
and the house and galleries crowded by a numerous and 
splendid collection of ladies and gentlemen ; his excellency, 
agreeable to appointment, and by notice from the president, 
arose from his seat, and with great dignity, addressed the 
house in aa appropriate speech. 

Thus closed the greatest revolution that had ever been un- 
dertakeUj accompanied with the greatest displays of wisdom, 
patience, fortitude, disinterested patriotism and feats of arms, 
and with a success, uncontemplated by the most sanguine 
sons of liberty. 

The liberty of America was now sealed, by the resignation 
of that illustrious chief, who had been the instrument in the 
hand of God, of obtaining and securing all her blessings, and 
on whose sword hung the destines of America. The father 
of his country retired to his seat in Virginia, there to enjoy in 
the bosom of repose, the prayers and benedictions of a free 
and grateful people. 

The general interest of the nation claimed, and received 
the unremitted efforts of congress, to give credit to the paper 
medium, (now almost a cypher by depreciation) — to. satisfy 
the claims of tbe army, and the creditors generally — to 
strengthen the union, by securing credit at home, and confi- 
dence abroad. 

The individual states pursued the same plans, extended 
their commerce, and improved their agriculture, and a gener- 
al tranquility prevailed. Several of the states, by legislative 
act, infringed such articles of the treaty as regarded the pay- 
ment of British debts, which gave to Great Britain a pretext 
for infringing that part of the treaty, which related to her re- 
linquishing the military posts on the western frontier : these 
became subjects of collision. 

It w.:s early foreseen after the war, that the national com- 
pact was too feeble to secure the tranquility of the stales ; 
two events rendered this evident to all. It became the inter- 
est of the nation, that congress should lay a national impost, 
to increase the revenue for the general good. This was ac- 
ceded to by all the states, except Rhode-Island ; her nega- 
tive put a veto upon the measure ; the impost failed i—cou- 



-0:i FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. ^ 

?r« rcT^Td crJr reccommend, but bad bo powers to enforce, 

lime, an insurrection broke out in the state 

=. under captain Daniel Shays, which became 

hi^btj alarming, and threaleced ifae destruction of liberty and 

the laws. 

These two important erents, called up the attention of the 

states, to ll.tir Leoeral interest : they unanimously resolved, 

io their genera! assemblies, to call a convection, to be held 

• • ?• • Mjiliia. to frame a constitution, which should more 

secure tbe peace and prosperity of the nation. 

7 ■ s were chosen by eH the states- and assembled 

i 787. Tbe father of his countr}-, as delegate 

I' ::. \ i'^:-^ -, iiioushr elected president of tbe con- 

ver'.ion. An was framed — received the signa- 

tiires " vciiiioa, and was transmitted to the states, for 

their :n and acceptance. 

CoDVcLiioLs of the several states were assembled; the 

constitution was regularly dijcussed, L&d adopted by a ma- 

J ori'T of the states. His escellency Gf orge Washington was 

<=!ected president, by tbe unar.iciGus ih^izges of bis country. 

"d \he honorable John A<'?m5, vice-president. Members of 

r« TV congress were regLier'r c450sen by all tbe states — as- 

:d ut New- York, reg ulsrly organized, and bis exceilen- 

• '. -• w^z. "rigtoa wiUi great soIemDity. was inducted 

1789. 

^ : '-— i]:zed, and became responsible 
fcr 1. -;. He who had shone so con- 

- . r.ujea a Dew lustre to his name, by bis 

rt. 

r-: . , . . Lice, 

• :; a spirit of agriculture, commerce 

> y rreT!:'!?ed : ? foundation was laid 

'as enjoyed, and 

, . ^ :t. 

HzT^ let OS pa3=e, and admire the wisdom and goodness 
f ' .re God of cnr father?, !n bis watchful, guardian care, over 
\.;i vice of Ibe reforiEariGrj, this litile church in tbe wilder- 
-p'-T. U they had not been barrased by the savages in their 
--!r settlements: would they have preserved their virtue ? 
i ' -y had not been pressed by the alarming dangers of the 
F.-ench war : would they have ever united .' If they had 
l:. r,5ea oppressed by Britain : would they have become a 



PKICSIUENT WASHINGTON. 269 

nation 1 If they had not been alarmed by iiisurrections under 
the old confederation ; would they have delegated such pow- 
ers to the now federal compact ? If the new federal corn- 
pact had nor been framed, and put into operation just at that 
critical lime, ju?t upon the explosion of the French revolu-, 
tion ; who will dare {o say, what would ha?e been the fate of 
United America at this day ? Let us adore the God of our 
fathers, who has done great things for us. 



CHAP. XLir. 

Jijfairs of America cotilinued — 7var with France— peace — war 
with England — ^?ertce — 7vnr with the Barbary powers — gene- 
ral peace, 1 8 1 5 — general remarks. 

We have noticed that auspicious day, the 4th of March 
1 709, when the father of his country, as President of the Uni- 
ted States of America, gave the first energies to that federal 
compact, which has proved the palladium of the liberty and 
prosperity of the nation. 

On the 5t!i of May following, commenced that terrible ex- 
plosion, the French revolution, which overthrew the religion 
and government of France, subverted almost every throne ia 
Christendom, and threatened the peace and liberty of Ameri- 
ca. To this compact^ under God, we are indebted, for all 
that peace and prosperity, she has been able to maintaia 
through this mighty struggle ; for her successes in the war 
with France, 1799, and her late war with England, during 
this distressing period. 

The war with France was short, and of too little moment 
to claim particular attention. The late war with England 
commenced in 1812, and closed February, 1815, was serious 
in its operations— eventful in its consequences, and claims 
eome particular notice. 

The collisions of France and England with the commer- 
cial, interests of America, excited a warmtis of feeling in 
America, and a spirit of hostility against both nations ; this 
was expressed- by congress, according to the strength and 
predominancy of the two great parties in our national coun- 
cils ; remonstrances produced negociations, the flucti|atiug 
state of Europe, rendered cegociations critical and doubifiil. 



270 WAR WITH ENGLAND. 

When the emperor Napoleon commenced his career of 
conquest — when ail Europe were alive to the events of the 
day — the American government embraced the favorable mo- 
ment, to redress the wrongs she had so long, and so patiently 
endured from British depredation on her commerce, and the 
rights of the American flag. — They proclaimed war against 
England, and at a blow, attempted the conquest of the Can- 
adas ; it failed, and the war became a naval war. 

Great Britain prepared to secure her possessions in the 
Canadas, by powerful armaments on the lakes; America con- 
tinued her operations against the Canadas, and prepared to 
meet her on the water ; she at the same time commenced 
general depredations upon the commerce of England, with 
privateers and frigates, and the contest became sharp and 
bloody. 

The English government sent their ships of war, and frig- 
ates, on to the American coast, with full confidence, that the 
small naval force of America, would soon be overpowered 
end destroyed. The Americans sent their cruisers, and 
fri<£ates, into every sea, and every clime, with high confidence, 
^.m\ distinguished success. The particular operations of this 
war, upon the water, claim some notice. 

On the 21st of June, 1812, (three days after war was de- 
clared,) an American squadron of two frigates, and two sloops 
of VI ar, under commodore Rogers, sailed from New-York on 
a cruise. On the 13th August, the United States frigate Es- 
c-rx of 44 guns, commanded by captain Porter, fell in with 
?nd captured his Britannic Majesty's sloop* of war Alert, of 
:20 guns, after an action of eight minutes. On the 19th of 
August, the United States frigate Constitution, of 44 guns, 
captain Hull, fell in with and captured his Britannic Majesty's 
frigate, Guerriere, of 38 guns, James Dacres, commander, af- 
ler an action of twenty five minutes. The Guerriere lost 
fifteen men killed, and sixty-four wounded ; the Constitution 
3tad seven killed, and seven wounded. 

At this time the government of Algiers commenced depre- 
(lationB upon the American commerce in the Mediterranean, 
pnd captured the brig Edwin of Salem. October 18th, the 
Ignited States sloop of war Wasp, of 16 guns, captain Jones, 
fell in with his Britannic Majesty's sloop of war. Frolic, of 18 
jrun|. captain Wyngates, and captured her in forty three min- 
utes' the Frolic had thirty killed, and fifty wounded ; the 
Wasp had five killed, and five woundedo 



NAVAL WAR. 



271 



His Britannic Majesty's shj|i of war the Poictiers, of seven- 
ty four guns, fell in with and captured the Wasp and her prize 
soon after the action. October 25, the United States frigate, 
United States, of forty-four guns, commodore Decatur, fell 
in with, and captured his Britannic Majesty's friy;ate Macedo- 
nian of 38 guns, J. S. Garden commander, after an action of 
one hour and thirty minutes; the Macedonian lost thirty six 
killed, and sixty eight wounded ; the United States five kil- 
led and seven wounded. December 29th, the United States 
frigate Constitution, 44 guns, commodore Bainbridge, fell in 
with and captured his Britannic M;jjesty's frigate. Java, of 
thirty-four guns, captain Lambert, after an action of fifty-tive 
minutes ; the Java lost sixty-nine killed, and <me hundred 
•and one wounded ; the Constitution nine killed, and twenty- 
five wounded. 

During these operations on the water, the Americans were 
imsuccessful in all their land operations against Canada, and 
the war on that side wore an unfavorable aspect. February 
24, 1813, the United States sloop of war Hornet, of sixteen 
guns, captain Lawrence, fell in with and captured his Britan- 
nic Majesty's brig Peacock of eighteen guns, captain Peake, 
after an action of 15 minutes ; the Peacock had 33 wounded 
which were saved with the prisoners of the crew; but the 
killed, with their captain, went down with the Peacock ; the 
Hornet lost 1 killed, 4 wounded, and 3 sunk in the prize. 

August. — At this time, the skirmishing on lake Ontario 
commenced with various success; the Creek and Choctaw 
Indians, began their depredations with success ; and the Eng- 
lish blockaded the ports south of the Chesapeake bay, under 
sir J. B. Warren. September 3 — the U. S. brig Enterprise 
of 16 guns, captain Burrows, fell in with, and captured his 
Britannic majesty's brig Boxer, of 18 guns, captain BIythe, 
after an action of 45 minutes ; the loss of the Enterprise 9 — 
the Boxer lost 45 ; both captains fell in the action. 

The limits of this work will not permit me to pursue this 
brilliant scene of naval war, and shew, in detail, the capture 
of his Britannic Majesty's frigates Cyane and Levant, by the 
United States frigate Constitution, in a desperate action ; of 
bis Britannic majesty's friijate Penguin, of thirty two guns, by 
the United States sloop of war Hornet; of his Britannic Ma- 
jesty's brig Epervier, of eighteen guns, by the United States 
sloop of war Peacock; of his Britannic Majesty's sloop of 
war Reindeer, by the United States sloop of war Wasp ; or of 



272 perry's victory. 

his Britannic Majesty's brigs Lettice and Bon Accord, and 
sloop of war Avon, by the Wasp : the last of which, sunk im- 
mediately after the action. 

These captures were the result of close action, in sharp 
and desperate conflicts ; many of these prizes, were stripped 
of every spar, and several so cut to pieces, as to become un- 
manageable, and were burnt at sea ; others sunk in the ac' 
tion, or immediately after. 

The general movements for the reduction of Canada, were 
now completed ; the flefts on lake Erie, and lake Ontario, 
were now about equal in numbers and force, and prepared 
for action. The American forces under the command of 
Gen. Harrison, moved towards Detroit, and an action corii- 
menced on Lake Erie, between the American fleet, under the* 
command of Com. Perry, and the British fleet under the 
command of commodore Barclay, Sept. 10th. 

The fleets were equal : commodore Barclay, an old dis- 
tinguished oflicer, in the school of Nelson, had seen much 
service ; commodore Perry, a young officer, and without ex- 
perience. The conflict commenced — the action was gener- 
al and desperate — commodore Perry's ship being disabled he 
changed his flag, on board another ship, in an open boat, in 
the heat of the action, and at once bore down with the re- 
mainder of his fleet upon the enemy : both fleets were close 
engaged — the action was short — the carnage was terrible, 
and the whole British squadron surrendered to Com. Perry. 
Two ships, two brigs, one sloop, and one schooner, were the 
trophies of his victory. 

The British, upon the news of this victory, evacuated De- 
troit, and retired to Maiden, in Upper Canada. Gen. Harri- 
son took possession of Detroit, Sept. 28th, and pursued into 
Canada. The illustrious Perry joined him, and became liis 
companion in arms. Gen. Harrison gained a victory over 
Gen. Proctor, in Upper Canada, with distinguished advantage; 
and captured and destroyed his whole army, Oct. 5. At the 
same time, commodore Chauncey took and destroyed seven 
of the British squadron on lake Ontario. 

Nov. 4th. — Overtures for peace arrived from England : at 
the same time Gen. V/iikinson arrived, and took command of 
the expedition into Canada. The operations continued 
with various success, through the month of December, and 
both armies took up their winter quarters. 

Feb. 1814.— The U. States frigate President, commodore 



CRUISE AND CAPTURE OF THE ESSEX. 27o 

Rogers, arrived after a cruise of seventy days. The United 
States frigate Essex, of thirty-two guns, Capt. Porter, which 
had sailed early in the v/ar, on a cruise to South America, 
took several valuable prizes on the coast of Brazil, doubled 
Cape Horn, and cruised" with great success on the coast of 
Chili and Peru ; captured and destroyed the British whale 
ships in those seas,* and repaired to the bay of Valparaiso, on 
the coast of Chili, to obtain supplies ; here she was overtaken 
and blockaded by a superior British force, consisting of the 
frigate Phoebe, of thirty six guns, and the sloop of war Che- 
rub, of twenty-two guns, and was captured, after an action of 
two hours and a half. 

At this time Gen. Jackson took vengeance on the Creek 
Indians, for their predatory ravages. July 3 — The opera- 
tions against Canada were now commenced. August. — A 
British squadron entered the Potomac, proceeded up to the 
city of Washington, landed a body of British troops, took the 
city, burnt, the Capitol, President's house, &tc. and retired, 
and plundered Alexandria ; from thence they proceeded to 
Baltimore, and after an unsuccessful attack, were compelled 
to retire. 

Sept. 1 1.-— The town of Plattsburg was assaulted by a land 
force from Lower Canada, under the command of Gen. Pre- 
vost, and a formidable naval force, under the command of 
commodore Downie. The harbor of Plattsburgh was defend- 
ed by the American Squadron, under the command of com. 
Macdonough. The merits of this action, so glorious to the 
American Navy, may be seen by the following official report 
of commodore Macdonough. 

U. S. ship Saratoga, off* Plailsburgh, Sept. 11, 1814. 

Sir, — The Almighty has been pleased to grant us a signal 
victory on Lake Champlain, in the capture of one frigate, one 
brig, and two sloops of war. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 

Sir your most obedient servant, 

T. MACDONOUGH. 

Hon. "William Jones, 

Secretary of the Navy. 

This signal victory, obliged general Prevost to retire with 
a rapid movement ; the American troops pursued, and he 
returned into Canada. The operations on the lines continued 
with vaiious success. The British invaded the city of New- 
Orleans with a formidable force, with a view to make a con- 



^74 WAR ^VITH ALGIERS. 

quest of Louisiana ; but were repulsed in a signal victory 
under generalJackson, and abandoned the enterprise, Jan. 
8, 1815. On the 11th February, the treaty of peace with 
Great Britain arrived, and closed the conflict. All things re- 
turned into their former state. Feb. 18, the treaty was rati- 
fied and peace was established. 

On the 2d of March, 1815, war was declared by the Amer- 
ican government against Algiers, and a squadron of eleven 
frigates and armed vessels, was dispatched to the Mediterra- 
nean, in Two divisions, under commodores Bainbridge and 
Decatur ; and in four months, all the Barbary powers were 
united in treaties of peace with the United States ; our own 
captives, and those of several European states, released, and 
expressions of submission from several of those powers ob- 
tained, not hitherto contemplated, and such as had never 
been extorted by any other nation. A just tribute to the 
American flag. 

Religion, patriotism and valor, supported by industry and 
economy, joined to resolution, perseverance and enterprise, 
marked the character of our fathers : these virtues combined, 
made this western wilderness blossom like the rose, and this 
savage desert become vocal with the praises of our God ; led 
them to resolve, that as the bible was the standard of their re- 
ligious faith and practice, they would take the bible for the 
standard of their civil government, until they could find a 
better. 

Under this standard, they planted a system of religious, 
civiland literary institutions, the most free, pure and perfect 
ever before known ; protected by a system of military disci- 
pline, the most independent in the support of that all-impor- 
tant military principle, true merit, ever before witnessed ; the 
whole, supported by that balance of power in the three de- 
partments of government, unknown to all former republics ; 
a balance of power, which originated in the Saxon heptarchy 
in the fifth century — was greatly improved by Alfred the great, 
in the ninth century — and has been completed in America. 

Upon this inestimable basis, stands the illustrious republic 
of United America. The success of these systems, stands un- 
rivalled in the annals of time, and so long as tney are preserv- 
ed in their purity, will continue to stand unrivalled, until they 
are eclipsed by the glories of the great millennial day. 

All the literature of the ancients, together with all the ex- 
if nsive improvements of the moUernsj io the arts and sclen- 



REMARKc;. 275 

ces have flourished in America, and equalled, if not surpass- 
ed the learning of Europe. The manufactures of America 
are yet in their infancy ; although her improvements have 
been flattering, she never can excel, so long as an unbounded 
forest invites to distant enterprise, and promises a rich reward 
to the hardy sons of labor. 

The agriculture of America has kept pace with her general 
improvements ; her inventive genius shines conspicuous ; and 
her enterprise on the ocean, has rendered her the second 
commercial nation in the world. Her naval glory stands un- 
rivalled, and the late war with England has evinced to the 
world, that America has stripped the laurel from the brow of 
the mistress of the seas. 

The most distinguished features in the American charac- 
ter, are displayed in that unshaken virtue, which formed her 
national republican compact: a compact, which has so bal- 
anced the independent sovereignties of the several states, as 
to give the most flattering assurances, that states may be mul- 
tiplied to any extent, even to overspread the whole northern 
continent, and yet our free elective government be support- 
ed, and the free independent republics preserved. 

Let every American cherish the religion and virtues of our 
forefathers ; cultivate and preserve their habits, manners and 
customs, together with their wise and virtuous institutions ; 
remembering, that these are the basis of all our boasted ac- 
quirements and enjoyments : that when we abandon these, 
we abandon the God of our fathers, the vine which he has 
planted, and desert the standard of the church in the wilder- 
ness. We may then take up our lamentation, with an eter- 
nal adieu to all our greatness, to all our peace, to all our 
boasted enjoyments. We shall then add one more example 
to the many already gone before us, that republican liberty 
without virtue, is dead. We shall then have a master, and 
that master must be a despot.* 

* See the recapitulation of the family of Abraham, page If. 



SKETCHES OP 
UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

PART THIRD. 

CHAP. I. 

Causes that led to the French Revolution ; causes that led to 
the great events which controlled it ; northern confederation 
against Sweden ; the rise of Peter I. ; rise of Charles XII . ; 
character of Sweden, Russia^ Demnark^ and Poland — inva- 
sion of Den7narkj and peace — siege of Narva ; battle of 
Narva ; battle of the Dwina ; intrigues of Charles XII. in 
Poland; character of the Polish nation and government; 
intrigues of the Archbishop ofGnesna — distracted state of 
Poland. 

The friends of the reformation, who had now in some de- 
gree, filled all the states of Europe, amidst the bloody and 
cruel persecutions of the popes and the creatures of the pa- 
pal church : and enjoyed the protecting power of Henry VHI. 
of England, Henry the IVth. of France, and queen Elizabeth 
of England ; who had triumphed over the vindictive malice 
of Philip the If. of Spiiin, and the overbearing hauteur, and 
exterminating persecution of Lewis XIV. of France, who had 
seen the true church happily planted in America ; were now 
destined to witness new and sanguinary scenes, to' endure 
new and sanguinary sufferincrg, and experience the triumphs 
of their enemies. — Enemies, more fatal to the church than 
the whole catalogue of two hundred and stxty popes, and 
more vindictive against the r( formation, than the thirty-eight 
papal despots, who have flourished since the days of Luther. 
— Enemies, who combined all the violent subtlety of the dis- 
ciples of Ignatius Loyola, (that saint of Gregory XV.) with all 




INI'lUELITV. 277 

(he arch inalice and venom of the school of modern philoso- 
phers, and who attacked her with the whole host of infideHty, 
under the masked assault of reason, philosophy, and illu- 
minatism ; armed a great nation by a desperate and destruc- 
tive revolution, to rifle her temples, violate her altars, pillage 
and butcher her friends, and by one solemn national decree, 
announce " that there was no God, and that death was an 
eternal sleep." 

The regular and progressive order of things in Europe, 
which paved the way to this eventual crisis, together with the 
means which at the same time were regularly progressing to 
control itj claim some particular notice. 

Tne great conflicts which sprang up in the south of Eu- 
rope, at the commencement of the eiijhteenth century, and 
which drenched the south in blood, by the lust of dominion, 
pride, subtlety, intrigue, luxury and corruption, paved the 
way for the gratification of that black catalogue of passions 
whicii flow from the total depravity of the human heart, and 
under the mask of science and refinement, opened the th a- 
tre of a twenty years war, and threatened the extermination of 
the very name of religion. 

The first symptom of this sanguinary scene apppeared, 
when Lewis XV. interfered in the quarrel of the Jensenists, 
and Jesuits, the violence of the parliament shewed that the 
poison had begun to work, and the attempt on the life of the 
king, was a specimen of the same subtle and vindictive mal- 
ice that destroyed Henry IV. and rendered the abolition of 
the order of Jesuits, absolutely necessary. 

The demon of subtlety and discorded then assumed a new 
form, and continued to work with the same means, under a 
new name, until it again drenched the world in blood, and 
was constrained to languish under the rod \yhich its own vio- 
lence and excesses had raised up, to cheek and crontrol it. 
When and how God had prepared this rod of correction, 
claims our next attention. 

In detailing the great events of Europe in succession, we 
noticed the mighty conflict in the nortfc, which sprang up in 
the reign of Lewis XIV. of France, between Russia, Poland 
and Denmark, with Sweden, passed over the operations and 
events of this war, and left them for this place, as being 
more immediately connected with the great subject of this 
part of our work. 

24 



278 PETER I. 

The long and distressing reigns of Lewis XIV. and XV, 
had kindled a fire oi ambition in the breast of man, which 
had given a polish to his manners, a brilliancy to the arts, and 
a lustre to his arms, which far surpassed Tormer ages, and 
%vhich the states oi' the north had not acquired. 

That God, who renders his means always adequate to his 
ends, had now raised up a bright constellation in the north, 
which should enable their dignity and improvements to vie 
.with the south. The two champions of this northern con- 
stellation, were Peter I. of Russia, and Charles XII. of Swe- 
den. 

In 1696, Peter had rendered his arms illustrious, in his war 
•with the Turks, particularly in the acquisition of Asoph, and 
the dominion of the Black Sea. Flushed with the acquisi- 
tions of this war, he resolved to make Russia the centre of 
trade for all that northern world — to this end he contemplated 
a city upon the Baltic, and a chain of water communication, 
from thence to the Black Sea, to the Caspian Sea, to Arch- 
angel on the North Sea, and to China. 

To accomplish these great objects, he sent three ambassa- 
dors into the south of Europe, to the courts of England, 
France and Holland, and followed in their train as a private 
gentleman. He passed into Holland ; there he entered the 
dock yards, and served as a common laborer to learn the 
art of ship building : he passed over into England, where he 
was courteously received, and returned into Russia, carrying 
with him some carpenters from the dock yards of England 
and Holland, and was master builder for the first ship built 
in Russia. 

In his travels, he studied the arts and sciences generally j 
he studied men, manners and things, with a view of laying 
the foundation of the future greatness of his country. 

The peace of Carlowitz closed the war with the TurkS; 
and guaranteed to Peter the conquests upon the Black Sea. 
Fired with the successes of this war, his mind aspired to the 
dominion of the Baltic, to accomplish the whole extent of 
his ambitious plans. To this end, he entered into an alliance 
lyith the king of Denmark, then Frederic II. and with the 
king of Poland, then Augustus, elector of Saxony, to seize 
on the dominions of Charles XII. the young king of Sweden. 
By this blow, Peter hoped to open a way to the ocean, 
through the sovereignty of the Baltic, and establish the un- 
CDntrouIeU commerce of hie new capital. All this was uiasH:- 



G'USTAVUS VASA, 279 

ed, under the pretext of recovering; the territory of his ances- 
tors, particularly the provinces of Ingria and Livonia. 

The dominions of Peter, at this time, embraced the whole 
north eastern section of the continent of Europe, together 
with the whole northern section of Asia, extending from the 
shores of the Baltic on the west, to the ocean on the north, 
and the Pacific ocean on the east ; the most extensive, and 
the most barbarous empire on the earth, and now under the 
sovereign dominion of one of the greatest, and most ambi- 
tious monarchs. 

Sweden, which was the Scandinavia of the ancients, (or 
Gothland,) from whence issued (he swarms of those tribes 
which overwhelmed (he western Roman empire, had been 
distinguished for its heroes, and the love of liberty, until 
it fell under the dominion of Denmark, in the reign of Mar- 
garet, 1492, and the distresses which ensued upon the divis- 
ion and intrigues of Christern, king of Denmark, and Upsal, 
archbishop and primate of the kingdom, a creature of the 
pope. 

These oppressions, roused up the nation to a sense of their 
wrongs : when Gustavus Vasa, a prince from the ancient 
kings of Sweden, who had been driven into obscurity by the 
revolutions of his suffering country, and in the character of a 
peasant, had been immured in the mines of Sweden, burst 
from his long concealment ; disclosed his character to his 
countrymen ; put himself at their head ; with his sword took 
vengeance on his enemies, and restored the liberty of his 
country. Gustavus took vengeance on the creatures of the 
pope ; exterminated the papal religion, and established the 
reformation of Luther, which continues to be the religion of 
Sweden. ** 

' Gustavu3 Adolphus, his son and successor, styled the great, 
protected the reformation in the heart of Germany, humbled 
the house of Austria, and made the pope tremble upon his 
throne. In the midst of his triumphs, he crowned the battle 
of Lutzen with his illustrious death, and was succeeded by 
Christiana, who did nothing more than evince to the world, 
that^be was unworthy of the crown of Sweden, appoint her 
successor, and resign her crown to Charles Gustavus. 

He, like his ancestor Gustavus Adolphus, was illustrious in 
arms, and died youns, in the midst of successful enterprise, 
and left his crown to Charles XI. who also was distinguished 
in arms, died early, and left his crown to the immorta^ 
Charles Xll. 



280 CHARLES Xll. 

Charles snccreded to the throne of this illusfrious line of 
ancestors, at fifteen years of a^e, in the year of 1699, the same 
year that Peter (he I. returned from his travels, and formed 
the design of dismembering his kingdom. The heroes of 
this distinguished dynasty, had trained the hardy Swedes to 
war ; and their spirit of hberty, joined to the principles of the 
reformation, had rendered their victorious arms illustrious on 
the fields of Germany, and inspired their neighbors with a 
high sense of their valor. 

Augustus, king of Poland, at this time, was seated upon a 
throne, rendered splendid by the high polish of his own per- 
sonal elegance, address and manners ; his kingdom was un- 
der the full power of the feudal system. Augustus was bat 
the shadow of a king, the nobility held the power. 

Denmark was governed by Frederic II. in possession of 
Norway, and claiming the sovereignty of one half of Swe- 
den ; possessing the spirit of those ancestors, whose depre- 
dations we have so often witnessed in England and France, 
and who was now leagued with Peter and Augustus, to dis- 
member the kingdom of Sweden, during the early age of the 
young king, Charles XII. He began the war by invading 
the duchy of Holstein, then owned jointly by the duke of 
Holstein, and his brother-in-law Charles XII. — 1700. 

Upon ihe first tidings of the war, the senate of Sweden 
were assembled, and the young king appeared in the midst of 
his council. During the all-important deliberations, all eyes 
were fised on him ; he was cool, thoughtful, and silent. 
Vfhen impatience was ready to distract the council, he ex- 
claimed, •'! vvil! never begin an unjust war, nor end a just 
one, but with the destruction of my enemies" — immediately 
made the necessary arrangements, embarked his troops at 
Carlescroon, on board his fleet, set sail for Copenhagen, land- 
ed on the island of Zealand, and invested the city. 

Upon the landing of the troops, Charles was the first on 
shore ; and when he heard the whistling of the bullets from 
the Danes, who opposed his landing, he said to an otficer 
who was near, " what noise is that in the air ?" upon being 
answered, it is the whistling of bullets, he replied, " ever- 
more let this be my music." 

A deputation immediately attended the king from Copen- 
hagen, beseeching him not to bombard their city — Charles, 
on horseback at the head of his troops, received them on 
tbeir knees, and opon a promise to pay four thousand rix dol- 



PEACE OF DENMARK. 281 

lars, he granted their request, concluded a treaty, and in six 
weeks, Denmark was severed from the confederacy by an 
honourable peace, and the duke of Holstein indemnitied for 
all his losses and expenses in the war. 

During these operations, Pettrthe Czar, with the allies, en- 
tered the provinces of Livonia and Inirria ; Peter laid siese to 
Narva, with eighty thousand men, and Au«:u3tus laid sieee to 
Riga. Charles advanced to the relief of Narva, crossed the 
gulf of Riga, with fifteen thousand foot, and four thousand 
horse, and landed in Livonia. The Czar had opened his 
trenches in October, before Narva, with one hundred and fifty 
pieces of cannon, and eighty thousand men, with a reserve of 
thirty thousand, then on their march to join him at Narva. 

The character of the Swedes had been f )rmed, under the 
succession of heroes who had filled the Swedish throne, but 
the character of the Russians was yet to be formed. This 
army of the Czar, was rather an assembled multitude, than 
a regular army ; composed of the peasantry of Russia, in a 
rude, savage, undisciplined state, many of them clad in fhq 
skins of wild beasts, armed with war clubs, and bows and ar- 
rows, few of them had fire arms, and were commanded by 
their chiefs, as unaccustomed to discipline as their soldiers. 

The Czar had given the command of this army to a Ger- 
man general, the duke De Croix, on whose experience and 
abilities he had great confidence ; and held, himself, the sta- 
tion of a lieutenant, fur the double purpose of learning the 
military art, as he had learnt the ship carpenter's art, through 
the regular grades of service — and to set the example of sub- 
ordination and discipline to the chiefs in his service, who had 
been accustomed to absolute sway, over their untutored 
slaves. 

The Czar had posted 30,000 of this besieging army in ad- 
vance from Narva, one league ; and 20,000 more in ads ance 
of the former, in order to intercept the approach of Charles, 
to the relief of Narva ; and 3,000 more, as an advance guard ; 
and had gone himself to hasten the march of an army of 
40,000 men, then on their way to join his army before Narva. 

Charles resolved to attack the Czar in his camp, put him- 
self at the head of 4,000 horse, and 4,000 light troops, and 
made a rapid movement to the relii^f of Narva. 

Upon the approach of the king of Sweden, the advanced 
guard of the Russians, consisting of 5,000 men, fled; the rout, 
terror, and disorder of (heir flight, with the Swedes close at 

24* 



282 BATTLE OF NARVA. 

their heels, threw the 20,000 in their way, into the same dis- 
order : they in their flight, spread terror and consternation 
throughout the camp. These operations had given very lit- 
tle check to Ihe advance of the king of Sweden : he now ap- 
peared before the Russian camp, well intrenched, and defend- 
ed by one hundred and fifty pieces of cannon. Charles, re- 
solved to avail himself of the general panic, advanced to the 
attack ; the Russians made a firm resistance ; the Swedes, 
having made a breach with their cannon in their intrench- 
ments, advanced to the charge with fixed bayonets, favored 
by a violent snow storm, and overthrew all in their way. A 
terrible carnage ensued ; the Russians fled on all sides, and 
abandoned their camp, artillery and baggage : the rout and 
consternation became general : Charles, with his little troop, 
pursued to the river — the right wing in attempting to cross, 
broke down the bridge, and met with another overthrown in 
the river ; the left wing returned to their camp, where, after a 
blight defence, they ail laid down their arms to the king of 
{Dweden, who received their submission with great civility. 

Charles detained only the general oflicers, and dismissed 
(he remainder in the most courteoip manner, supplied them 
with boats to cross the river, and they returned into Russia. 
Eighteen thousand Russians had (alien in their intrenchments, 
besides those that had fallen in their flight, and were drowned 
;n the river: the Swedes lost but six hundred. 

This almost unexampled overthrow, saved Russia : it 
taught Peter, that numbers, without discipline, would rather 
n:in, than save his country ; and he profited by the lesson. 
It inspired Charles with too much confideuce in his own 
strength, and too much contempt for his enemies ; the&e two 
evi's ruined his cause. 

Charles, wrapped up in his cloak, threw himself upon the 
ground, (then covered with snow.) and gave himself a few 
hours repose. At break of day, he prepared to attack a body 
of 30,000 Russians, not yet subdued, ^hen he received from 
their general, overtures of submission, with a request, that the 
king would grant them the same favor he had granted to the 
other captives: he sent his assurances, and the 30,000 laid 
down their arms, and the king received their submission with 
their heads uncovered, at the head of less than 7000 Swedes, 
sent them all free, back into their own country, and entered 
Narva in triumph. Here he treated the general officers of 
the Russians, who were detained as prisoners^ with great lib- 



PASSAGE OF THE DWINA. ^83 

eraiify ; restored their swords, supplied them with money, 
and conducted with great modesty. 

This overthrow, caused Augustus to raise the siege of Ri- 
ga. The Czar received the news of the destruction of his 
army before Narva, when advancing by forced marches, with 
40,000 men, to intercept the retreat of the king of Sweden, 
and in high expectations of enclosing him between the two 
armies, and thus seahng his ruin: he abandoned his enter- 
prise, returned to Moscow, and devoted himself to the disci- 
pline of his army. 

Upon the request of Augustus, they soon had an interview 
at Birsen. in Lithuania, to concert measures of general defence 
and safety; and gave themselves up to dissipation fifteen days. 

Charles passed the winter at Narva, and upon the opening 
of spring, appeared in Lithuania. The Saxons had taken thq 
lield under Mareschal Stenau, and Ferdinand, duke of Cour- 
land, and opposed his passage of the river Dwina. 

Charles assembled his boats, and embarked his troops with 
a favorable wind ; at the same time he let off a great number 
of boats, filled with burning hay, straw, &cc. ; this smoke 
blew over upon the enemy, and concealed the movements of 
(he king. He passed in good order, and, as at Copenhagen, 
leapt into the water at the head of his troops, landed his can- 
non, and formed his arrny on shore, before the smoke was 
sufficiently cleared away to give the Saxons opportunity to 
make resistance. 

Mareschal Stenau, as soon as the air was cleared, lost not 
a moment ; he fell upon the Swedes with the flower of his 
cavalry ; the shock was violent ; the Swedes were broken, 
and fled into the river ; Charles, with great composure, re- 
covered the shock, rallied his troops in the water, advanced 
to the charge and recovered the plain. 

An action commenced — the Saxons fought with great 
bravery, and the duke of Courland thrice penetrated into the 
king's guards, had two horses killed under him, was repuls- 
ed, wounded, and carried oft' the field. The Saxons fled, 
and the king advanced to MKtau, the capital of Courland; 
here he received the submission of the whole duchy. 

He next marched into Lithuania, and formed the plan of 
deposing Augustus, king of Poland, through the intrigues of 
his own subjects. The operations and success of this in- 
trigue, will give the best illustration of the strength and gen- 
ius of the feudal government of PolaDd. 



284 «OVERNMENT OF POLANP. 

This kingdom was larger than France, watered with large 
and fine rivers, and possessed a rich" and fertile soil ; but the 
natives were indolent, the nobility rich, and the peasantry 
slaves. The population of Poland was at that time greater 
than that of Sweden, but the character of the nation, and en- 
ergies of the government very different, and far inferior. 

The constitution of Poland was purely gothic. Every 
gentleman might vote for the choice of a king, and even be 
chosen himself; this general liberty of suffrage and election, 
exposed the crown always to the highest bidder. The nobll- 
iy and clergy were independent of the crown ; but the peas- 
antry were bought and sold like cattle upon the estates, and 
even their lives were at the disposal of their lords. 

In the midst of this wretchedness, the Polanders were proud 
of their liberty, and of their republic ; and gloried in the title 
of electors of kings, and destroyers of tyrants. The very 
seeds of discord, riot and rebellion, were sown in the consti- 
tution of Poland ; and at the coronation of the king, he ab- 
solved his subjects from their allegiance, upon his infringing 
the constitution and the laws. 

All offices were at the disposal of the crown, and nothing 
was hereditary, but the estates of the nobility ; yet the balance 
of power was on the side of the people. The king could not 
remove an office he has once conferred, but the people could 
depose the king, if he violated one law of the republic. 

Two great parties, were ever the standing monuments of 
faction in this government — the one in office, and the other 
in caballing to obtain promotion. The same bitterness and 
jealousy that prevailed against each other, involved the king; 
both jealous of their power, held themselves as the guardi- 
ans of their liberties. 

The diets, or states general, regulated all the affairs of the 
republic. These were composed of the clergy, nobilily, and 
gentry, which formed an elective body, over which the arch- 
bishop of Gnesna, as primate of the republic, presided ; and 
in case of an interregnum, he became viceroy. 

This council met alternately in Poland and Lithuania, and 
sat armed in council, after the manner of their forefathers — 
and every gentleman of this body had a negative upon the 
senate, and by his single protest or vote, could stop the unani- 
mous resolves of all the others ; and if he then quitted the 
city or town where the diet sat, he dissolved the assembly. 

These seeds of rebellion often broke out into open vio- 



GOVERNMENT OF IPOLAN'I). 285 

lence; the diets broke up, and the parties held separate dietSj 
under the sanctity of the king's name, and often without, or 
against his knojvledge and consent, as the parliament of Eng- 
land did, in the reign of Charles 1. : custom, not law, sanc- 
tions these cabals. 

In this feudal government, the nobility constituted the mili- 
tary strength of the nation ; the peasantry were not trusted 
with arms : and to secure their own power against the 
crown they did not build forts, or castles of strength them- 
selves, nor suffer the king. These armies, like the old feu- 
dal service in the south of Europe, were assembled on sud- 
den emergencies, kept the field but a short time for the want 
of discipline and regular supplies, and were often disbanded 
in disgust. 

In addition to this force, a regular guard was provided for 
the kingdom, consisting of two parts, under two generals, in- 
dependent of each other. The first, in Poland, consisted of 
30,000 men, and the other in Lithuania of 12,000 men.-— 
These generals were appointed by the king, but were ame- 
nable only to the republic. It was the duty of the state to 
support this force ; but upon their neglect, each officer was 
bound to support his separate corps under his command ; 
which he did by depredations upon the peasantry. 

Such was the civil and militray strength of Poland, when 
Charles XII. appeared upon its borders. In addition to 
this imbecile state of Poland, a civil war raired in Lithuania, 
between two rival families of the nobles. Charles, by throw* 
ing his weifiht into the scale of the one, destroyed the resist- 
ance of the other, and secured Lithuania. 

His next object was to dethrone Augustus in the same 
way. The kinj; had rendered himself unpopular, by intro- 
ducing Saxon troops into Poland, when he laid sie^e to Ri- 
ga ; this jealousy weakened his dependence upon the army, 
then only about 18,000 strong, and rendered the situation of 
the kintc very critical and aldrming ; his only alternative was, 
to assemble a diet. This council, when assembled, were not 
so much prepared to ijrant him relief, as to scrutinize his 
measures; and it soon appeared, that Charles XII. had the 
strongest party in the diet. 

At the head of the party of Charles, stood the archbishop 
of Gnesna, primate of the kingdom, and president of the 
council. Thib grand di'i;nitary, being well versed in the in- 
trigues of Poland, and fired with resentment fur some former 



^86 INTRIGUES OP CHARLES XII. 

disappointments, began to open the way for a great revolu- 
tion. 

He issued circular letters, disclosing the weakness and 
cabals of the diet, and exhorting to national union ; at the 
same time, he despatched an address to the king of Sweden, 
conjuring him to give peace to Poland and her king. A ne- 
gociation soon ensued between the minister of Charles, and 
the prelate ; and the intrigues at the prelate's house, regu- 
lated the movements of the diet. Charles seconded these 
measures whilst he lay with his army in Lithuania, by pub- 
licly declaring, that he did not make war against the Poles, 
but only against Augustus and his Saxons ; that the great ob- 
ject of his visit was, to restore the liberty of Poland. 

At this time, Peter sent 20,000 Russians into Lithuania, to 
support the cause of Augustus, agreeable to treaty. These, 
by their ravages, distressed the Lithuanians, rendered the 
cause of Augustus still more unpopular, and served for em- 
ployment to the Swedes, who were directed to harrass, and 
drive them back into Russia. 



CHAP. IL 

duguslus attempts a secret peace with Charles XIL— ^battle of 
Carcow — battle of the Bog — war in Polish Prussia — in- 
trigues of the Primate — Augustus deposed — Stanislaus LeC' 
zinski elected kin^ — capture of Leopold — coronation of 
Stanislaus. 

In this critical and alarming state of Poland, the diet broke 
up, Feb. 1702 ; but the senate continued at Warsaw, making 
provisional laws and regulations for the safety of the king- 
dom ; a practice, sanctioned by custom, not by law. They 
decreed an embassy to the king of Sweden, the assembling 
the nobles in defence of the state, and attempted at the same 
time to diminish the power of the king. This attack upon 
the crown, decided the fate of Poland. 

Augustus resolved to make a secret peace with Charles 
XIL To effect this, he engaged in his interest the countess 
of Coniffsmark, (a Swedish lady, to whom he was attached,) 
and obtained her consent to negociate for him with the king 
of Sweden, under cover of her paying her respects to that 
sovereign, in whose dominions she had resided, upon one oi 
her estates. 



INTRIGUES OF CHARLES XH. 287 

The countess was the handsomest, and most accomplish- 
ed woman of the age, and mother of the great mareschal 
Saxe, who became so illustrious in the reign of Lewis XV. 
king of France. She repaired to the camp of the king of 
Sweden, and gained access to his minister, but not to the 
king ; he cautiously avoided her. 

Resolved to accomplish her purpose, the countess met the 
king in a narrow pass, stepped from her coach, and threw 
herself in his way. He coolly turned about his horse, and 
returned to his tent, choosing to evince to the world, that he 
preferred being vanquished, rather than being subdued by a 
woman. The countess returned to Augustus. 

At this time, the resolve of the senate had reached Au- 
gustus ; he took advantage of it, and despatched his own 
minister to negociate the treaty. Him Charles imprisoned, 
and then marched to Grodno, The deputation from the sen- 
ate next waited upon Charles ; these he received with great 
coolness and dignity. The conference was guarded, and 
nothing concluded. Charles then seized the critical moment, 
assured them that he would settle their affairs at Warsaw, 
took up his march, and entered that city the fifth of May, 
1702. 

This movement overawed the nation, and left the king as 
a fugitive, without strength, without troops, and without re- 
sources : these he attempted to supply from Saxony ; but 
these troops only increased the general jealousy and alarm. 

At this critical moment, the cardinal primate repaired to 
the king of Sweden, where he held a long conference with 
the king, standing, which the king closed by announcing, " I 
will never give the Poles peace, until they have elected a 
Dew king :" this, the cardinal caused to be published through- 
out Poland. 

The crisis had now arrived ; Augustus had assembled his 
Saxons, and gone in quest of Charles, then advancing to Cra- 
cow with an army of 12,000 men. Augustus met him upon 
a spacious plain with 24,000 men ; the action commenced 
by a discharge of artillery, and the young duke of Holsteia 
fell at the head of the Swedish cavalry. 

Struck with the loss of this brave officer, and fired with 
ardor and rage, Charles rushed at the head of his guards, in- 
to the heat of the action ; the contest was bravely supported ; 
the prize was the crown of Poland. The Saxons were bro- 
ken—retired, and rallied to the charge again and again, until 



288 INTRIGUES OF CHARLES Xiic 

overpowered by the resistless impetuosity of the Swedes, 
they tied in disorder, leaving their camp, artillery and bag- 
gage in the hands of the victors. Charles passed these with- 
out notice pursued the vanquished to Cracow, and would 
have entered, the city commixed with the fup:itives, if the 
gates had not been closed upon him : these were instantly 
forced, and Charles entered in triumph ; not a gun was fir- 
ed ; the soldiers fled to the castle ; Charles entered the cas- 
tle, commixed with the fugitives, and the city was reduced 
without a s}m, 

Charles immediately left the city, to pursue Augustus in 
his flight, determined to strike the finishing blow. In the 
midst of his zeal, his career was arrested by a fall from his 
horse which broke his thigh. This confined him at Cracow 
six weeks, and gave Augustus time to recover in some meas- 
ure his defeat. He caused it to be published extensively, 
that Charles XII. was dead, hy the fall. This was generally 
believed, and involved the Poles in a new dilemma. Augus- 
tus seized the favorable moment, and assembled a diet, first 
at Marienburg, and next at Lublin : the representation was 
full, and the cardinal primate was present. 

The misfortunes of the king, had learnt him to become 
more affable and conciliatory, and his sufferings had softened 
the passions of (he diet ; a general harmony prevailed, and 
Augustus received a new oath of allegiance from the diet, 
the purport of which was, " that they never had, and never 
would attempt any thing prejudicial to the cause of Autius- 
tusj" and the diet resolved to maintain an army of 50,000 
men, for the protection of the crown. 

Charles was now well ; he summoned a new diet at War- 
saw, and by the intrigues of the primate, set this diet to coun- 
teract the late diet of Augustus, by their disputes and de- 
crees ; and having received 6000 foot and 8000 horse from 
Sweden, he went in quest of general Stenau, at the head of 
the Saxons. In May, 1703 — he came up with him behind 
the river Bog, near the confines of Prussia. Charles plung- 
ed his horse into the river, at the head of his cavalry ; the 
resistance was slight, the Saxons fied, the king pursued, and 
their army was dispersed. 

Augustus fled to Thorn, in Polish Prussia; Charles pur- 
sued, and laid siege to Thorn. To reduce this strong city, it 
became necessary to receive cannon, men and supplies from 
Bweden ; these in their way, met with souie delay in passing 



INTRIGUES OF CHARLES Sir. 289 

i)y Dantzic, another free city of Polish Prussia, at the mouth 
of the Vistula ; this sliaht offence cost them 100,000 ck wns. 

Upi)D the reduction of Thorn, at the expiration of one 
monlb, Charles rtwarded the governor for his bravery, but 
exacted a contribution of 40,000 crowns.. Upon a slight of- 
fence from the city of Elhing, Charles exacted at the point 
of the bayonet, a contribution of 260,000 crowns. All this 
secured the overthrow of Augustus. 

Durins; these operations of Charles, the cardinal primate 
repaired to Warsaw, attended by a retinue of soldiers from 
his own estates ; lie threw off the c^iask, and published in the 
name of the assembly, " that Augustus, elector of Saxony, 
was incapable of vvearins^ the crown of Poland ;" and all the 
assembly pronounced the throne vacant. 

The cardinal now flattered himself that he had accomplish- 
ed his purpose, and restored the crown to the family of John 
Sobieski, in the person of his son James ; who was waiting 
with impatience at Breslaw for the issue. 

Augustus, alive to the views of the primate, sent a party of 
horse, surprised James Sobieski, on a hunting party with hh 
brother, conveyed them into Saxony, and imprisoned them 
at Leipsic. The same disaster awaited Augustus. General 
Renschild surprised him at table with his friends, near Cra- 
cow — Augustus fled — Renchild pursued — the flight continu- 
ed four days, almost in close view ; but Augustus escaped — 
and the king of Sweden was victorious in Poland. 

Charles, next offered the crown of Poland to Alexander, a 
third son of John Sobieski. Alexander refused, alleging, 
" that nothing should induce him to make advantage of his 
brother's misfortunes." Charles, as^eeaj)le to the views of 
his minister, offered the crown to his favorite, Stanislaus Lec- 
zinski. He in his turn refused it. 

Cha^-les sent a message to the assembly at Warsaw, ^' that 
they must elect a king of Poland in tive days, and that Stan- 
islaus must be the man." The cardinal primate used all his 
influence to defeat the election, but without effect ; he with- 
drew from the council, and Stanislaus was elected, and pro-. 
claimed king, amidst the acclamations of the diet, July 12, 
1705. Charles repaired in secret to Warsaw, and witness- 
ed the scene. 

Charles compelled the cardinal, with all the absentees and 
opposers, to appear and do homage to the new king, and at- 
tend him to the quarters of the king of Sweden : who psid io 



290 BEVOLUTION OF POLAND. 

Stanislaus ali the honors due to the king of Poland, and sup- 
plied him with troops and money, to secure his power ; took 
up his march to finish the conquest of Poland, and laid siege 
to Leopold. 

This strong town was carried by assault, after a siege of 
one day, aod yielded an immense treasure to Charles. Stan- 
islaus remained at Warsaw wilh the cardinal primate, the 
bishop of Posnania, and some grandees of Poland, who com- 
posed bis court, to arrange the affairs of his kingdom, with a 
guard of about 6O0O men. 

Augustus, apprised of the situation of Charles, and the fall 
of Leopold, collected a force of about 20,000 men, mostly 
Saxons, and by a rapid movement, fell upon Warsaw by sur- 
prise. The city was unfortified, and defenceless, against such 
a force. Stanislaus fled, his family and his friends scattered, 
and thus made their escape ; his youngest daughter was con- 
cealed, and afterwards found in a manger, a humble station 
for her who was destined to become queen of France, 

Auiiustus withdrew from Warsaw with his forces, commit- 
ted the command to count Scullemburg, left the country to 
the ravages of the two kings, retired into Saxony, and forti- 
iied his capitial. Scullemburg had the adroitness to elude the 
pursuit of the king of Sweden, and get off his army in good or- 
der, thus leaving Stanislaus in quiet possession of his crown. 

The pope threatened all the ecclesiastics of Poland, with 
the thunders of his power, if they attempted to assist at the 
coronation of Stanislaus, or to take any measures contrary 
to the interests of Augustus. 

Charles set his thunders at defiance, and witnessed (incog) 
the magnificent coronation of Stanislaus and his queen at 
Warsaw, October *4, 1705, by the hands of the archbishop of 
Leopold, together with several other prelates ; the crown, 
placed upon Stanislaus, was placed upon the object of the 
labors of Charles. 



CHAP. in. 

Redudion of Narva, by Peter I. — Peter commences the city of 
Petersburg — Charles XJI. enters Saxony — peace with Au- 
gustus — Distresses of Poland — Charles XIL commences his 
march into Russia — Battle of the Berezina, 

?)uBiNG these operalions in Poland, the Czar of Russia was 



PETERSBURG. 201 

not idle ; he had learnt in his travels in Holland, how the 
Dutch recovered their country from the sea, by their unre- 
mitted etforts, and caused the finest, and most commercial 
cities in Europe, to rise up in the midst of the waters, and 
stand firm upon the softest mud. 

Peter was now enc^aged in rescuing from the Baltic, a scite 
for his new city of Petersburg. To accomplish this, it be- 
came necessary for him to obtain possession of Narva, lying 
in the neighborhood of his object. He laid siege again to 
Narva, and carried it by assault, August, 1703, after a regular 
siege : here he was constrained to draw his sword against his 
own soldiers, to check their cruel licentiousness towards the 
inhabitants, after their surrender. 

Upon the fall of Narva, he drew the plan, and laid the 
foundation of the city of Petersburg, which, for its com- 
merce, wealth, regularity and beauty, has become the admi- 
ration of Europe. To effect this, he had the same obstacles 
to overcome, that were peculiar to Amsterdam, in Holland, 
a foundation of mud, unconquerable to any other man than 
Peter, together with a climate so inhospitable as to destroy 
two hundred thousand men in the early stages of the enter- 
prise* 

Firm tahis purpose, Peter surmounted all this in the midst 
df an unsuccessful war, and even when his allies were falling 
beneath the sword of his haughty overbearing rival. This 
very war he turned to his advantage, to prosecute his plan, 
and bring forward his city, whilst Charles was employed in 
giving away crowns in Poland. 

In 1704, Petersburg had become the residence of more 
than three hundred thousand souls, which Peter had trans- 
planted there from different parts of bis dominions, and in 
1705, when Stanislaus was crowned king of Poland, Peters- 
burg had become a commercial city, and its harbor was full 
of foreign ships. The liberality of Peter drew strangers of 
all descriptions, from all parts of Europe, and Petersburg was 
soon filled with commerce and the arts. 

In the midst of these labors, he rendered some assistance 
to Augustus ; but his means could not accomplish both ends 
—his new city grew, but Augustus fell. This fall, roused up 
the Czar to new efforts ; he saw his own dominions laid open 
to the conqueror, upon this event ; and he put forth his efforts 
to recover, what he had not been careful to prevent. He in- 
vited Augustus, (by his minister Patkul,) to a conference at 
Grodno ; and repaired thither with an army of 70,000 men. 



292 ^ETERSBURfr. 

Augustus met him, aftenrled by general Scullemburg, and 
the scattered remains of bis troops. The conference was 
short: the Czar was called suddenly to quell an insurrection 
in Astracan, and left his army to co operate with Augustus, 
in recoveriag the crown of Poland. 

Augustus soon after ordered his minister, John Patkul, to 
be arrested, and imprisoned at Dresden, upon a suspicion of 
an intrigue, to settle a separate peace between the Czar, and 
the king of Sweden. 

The plan of Augustus in distributing his Russian and Saxon 
troops into small divisions, to harass and distress the Poles, 
as well as the king of Sweden, led to the most active opera- 
tions. Charles co-operated with Stanislaus, and they fell upon 
these several divisions in such rapid succession;^ that Po- 
land was soon cleared, the Russians were driven behind 
the Boristhenes, and all the treasures of Augustus and his 
Russian allies, fell into the hands of Charles ; together with 
an entire regiment of French soldiers, which had been taken 
by the Saxons at the famous battle of Hochstet, in their war 
with Lewis XIV. 1704, and entered into the Saxon service. 

Charles rceived this regim.ent at their request, «into his 
service, on the same day of their capture. Having fettled the 
conqsh^st of Polan:! ; secured the crown to Staolslaus, he 
prepared to enter Germany. Charles by rapid movements, 
marched into Saxony, where he was triumphant, and gave 
•law to the electorate. 

On his passing through Silesia, he gave a general alarm to 
the empire, already torn and harras?ed by the distressing 
wars with Lewis XlV. who was supporting the claims of the 
bouse of Bourbon upon the throne of Spain. 

They were soon relieved ; his stay was short in Saxony ; 
he visited the field of Lutzen, rendered so famous by the 
death of the great Gustavus Adolphu?, paid a tribute of res- 
pect to his memory, and exclaimed ; " I have endeavored to 
live like him, God perhaps may one day grant me as glorious 
a death." 

Charles proceeded to levy enormous contributions upon 
Saxony, to the amount of 625,000 rix dollars per month, 
with daily rations for his army whilst he staid ; established a 
new and energetic police ; and attended the great fair of 
Leipsic ; the whole electorate enjoyed the most profound 
tranquility, during the stay of the king of Sweden. 

During these movemen's in Saxony, August u?, deprived of 



RESIGNATION OF AUGUSTUS. 293 

both of liis crowns, was a wanderer in Poiantl. la the depth 
of despair, he wrote to the king of Sweden secretly, by the 
baron de Imhoif, and sued for peace. Charles received the 
letter, and replied, " I consent to give peace to Augustus up- 
on the following conditions, which can never be altered : 

1. " That Augustus renounce the crown of Poland forev- 
er ; that he ackuowletJge Stanislaus as lawful king: and that 
he promise never to mount the throne of Poland, not even 
after the death of Stanislaus." 

2. " That he renounce all other treaties, and particularly 
fliose he has made with Muscovy." 

During this negociation, a Russian array, under prince 
Menzikoff, appeared in Poland, joined Augustus, and threw 
him into the greatest embarrassments. An action commenced 
at the same time, with a detachment of Swedes, in which, for 
(he first time, the Rursians were victorious ; and Augustus 
entered Warsaw in triumph. In the midst of Te Deum, 
which Augustus had ordered for the successful action, a mes- 
senger arrived with the treaty of peace from Charles, 

Augustus signed it, resigned his crown, and set off for Sax- 
ony to meet Charles. The two sovereigns met: Charles re- 
ceived, and treated Augustus respectfully, and gave him the 
right hand; but compelled him to write a letter of congratu- 
lation to Stanislaus, renounce the title of king of Poland, and 
to erase it from the public prayers. 

Fired with resentment at this inglorious peace, the Czar re- 
entered Poland at the head of 60,000 men, flew to Leopold, 
assembled a diet, and ordered a new king of Poland to be 
elected. The factions of Leopold, controlled the diet ; Pe- 
ter transferred the diet to Lublin : factions still prevailed — 
they made no choice, renounced both kings,^ and dissolved 
the diet. 

This threw the republic into an unparralleled state of 
wretchedness : the sword of civil war was drawn ; the torch 
of civil war was lit ; conflict, carnage, pillage, and conflagra- 
^on marked the movements of all the parties, and the Poles 
abhorred alike their kings, the Czar, and Charles XIL 

In the midst of this state of wretchedness and distress, 
Stanislaus appeared in Poland with a body of troops from 
Saxony ; the discipline of his troo[)s, and his money, rallied 
the Poles around his standard, and he was soon at the head 
©f such a force, as compelled the Czar to abandon Poland. 

At this critical moment appeared a third party in Polan^f^ 
^5^ 



294 CHARLES XII. 

headed by count Sinkausky, grand general of the crown. 
He made great efforts to be elected king and failed, and was 
now become the head of a party, of some considerable force, 
whose only subsistence was pillage. This third scourge of 
Poland, was of short continuance ; they soon abandoned their 
chiefs, repaired to the standard of Stanislaus, and he became 
the acknowledged sovereign of Poland.. 

During these movements in Poland, Charles held his court 
at Altranstadt, where he received ambassadors from all the 
powers of the south of Europe, then engaged in the great 
contest about the Spanish succession. Although Charles bad 
pledged himself in 1700, that he would not interfere in the 
quarrel — yet the great duke of Marlborough, could not be 
jjersuaded, that money would not make a man change his 
opinion, and even his word, until, as ambassador of queen 
Ann, he had visited Charles XII. king of Sweden. 

Charles had now passed one whole year in Saxony, where 
by his diplomatic skill, he had humbled the emperor of Ger- 
many, protected the Lutherans in Silesia, dethroned one king, 
crowned another, and rendered himself the admiration of Eu- 
rope, and the terror of the north. He prepared to depart. 

On the approach of his departure, he ordered the grand 
Mareschal of his household, to lay before him, the rout from 
Leipsic, to all the capitals in Europe : and, September, 1707, 
he commenced his march for Poland at the head of 43,000 
men, to join count Levenhaupt, with 20,000 more, together 
with such recruits as were often arriving from Sweden. At 
the head of this army, he received an ambassador from the 
sultan of Constantinople, with a present of one hundred 
Swedes, purchased of the Tartars, and the compliments of 
the ambassador, upon the accession of Stanislaus. 

Charles, at the head of this strong force, cleared Poland of 
all the Russians, settled the tranquility of the kingdom, left 
Stanislaus 10,000 Swedes, for the protection of his crown, 
and commenced his march, amjdst frost and snow, in the 
month of January, 1708, to surprise the Czar in Grodno. 

Feter had the good luck to escape at the north gate, when 
Charles entered at the smith ; and made his retreat. The 
next day, Peter, finding that Charles had advanced by a ra- 
pid movement, with only 600 of his guards, surprised the 
king of Sweden in his turn, at Grodno, with a force of 1500 
men : an action ensued and the impetuosity of Charles, com- 
pelled Peter to flee with precipitation; and secure his retreat. 



BATTIiE OP THE BEREZINA. 295 

Peter collected his forces in Lithuania, and retired into 
Muscovy, by forced marches, and laid waste the country. 
Charles pursued with rapid movements — harassing and dis- 
tressing the Russians in their flight: the wilds of Muscovy, 
covered only with morasses and deep forests, almost impen- 
etrable, with a scanty supply of subsistence — rendered this 
flight extremely distressing; and to crown all, it was* in the 
heart of a Russian winter. The Czar continued to retire, 
through the winter and spring. Charles advanced ; and on 
the 25th of June, they met on the opposite banks of the Bere- 
zina. Here the Czar had collected his forces, intrenched his 
camp, and awaited the approach of the king of Sweden. 

Charles, by gaining a pass, crossed the river, and attacked 
and routed the Czar — who retired on to the Boristhenes, de- 
stroying the roads and bridges, and laying waste the country; 

Charles fell in with an army of 30,000 Russians, strongly 
intrenched behind a morass : impatient for the attack, he de- 
tached a party of horse, to take the enemy in flank — plunged 
into the morass, at the iicad of his guards, and commenced 
the assault : the resistance was firm, but the Russians were 
broken and dispersed, and the action was decisive. This 
memorable action, caused this memorable medal. Upon 
one side was inscribed — Sylvas,paludas^ agger as, hosles,vicli. 
Woods, marshes, mounds, and enemies conquered. Upon 
the other — Victrices copias alium lalurus in orbem. Wafting 
his warlike troops to the other world. 

Upon the loss of this action, the Czar sued for peace : to 
which Charles replied, " I will treat at Moscow." Charles 
advanced to Smolensk : here he attacked a body of 10,000 
horse, and 6,000 Cossacs, with his accustomed impetuosity. 
The troops were routed, and fled : Charles pursued ; the 
Cossacs ambushed him at the head of his guard, and cut ofif 
his communication with his main body : a desperate conflict 
ensued — the king was dismounted, his horse killed, and he 
engaged, hand to hand, with these savages of the north, and 
by bis desperate valor, he killed and kept at bay these despe- 
rate assailants, with the loss of all his attendanis, except Sve. 

In this critical and alarming situation, a colonel Dardof, at 
the head of a little band, broke through the Tartars, relieved 
the king, and put the enemy to flight. Charles, with his usu- 
al intrepidity, mounted his horse, put himself at the head of 
his troops, and pursued the fugitives, more than two leagues 
on his route to Moscow. 



296 BATTLE OP THE MORASS. 

Charles, who bad advanced more than five hundred leagues, 
into the heart of an enemy's country, amidst the most unpar- 
alleled successes — began now to feel the want of recruits, to 
supply the place of those who had purchased his victories by 
their death ; and others who were sick, or dead, with the fa- 
ti:;ues and diseases of the march ; together with supplies and 
military stores for his army, through the severities of a Rus- 
sian winter. Knowing that Peter had laid waste the country, 
and destroyed the bridges and the roads leading to Moscow — 
be began to pause and consider : his only dependance now 
was, on the arrival of general Levenhaupt, with stores and 
recruits from Sweden, to reinforce and refresh, as well as 
support his army. 

In this situation, Charles commenced a negociation with 
Blazeppa, prince of the Ukraine Cossacs, who engaged to 
sup{)Iy him with 30,000 men, ammunition, provisions, mon- 
ey, kc. and to meet him, with these supplies, at a given time 
and place. 

Pleased with this new fund of resources, and having the 
more confidence in Mazeppa, as a Polander by birth and ed- 
ucation, and then at enmity with the Czar— Charles turn- 
ed aside from the road to Moscow, and attempted to pene- 
trate, by devious ways, into the almost impenetrable forests 
of the Ukrain, in quest of the prince of the Tartars. 

In this attem{)t he lost almost all his artillery and baggage, 
in passing the rivers, and deep morasses of the forests : ex- 
hausted with fatigue, and in want of almost all things, he arriv- 
ed at the place of general rendezvous, at the time appointed. 
Mazeppa appeared ; but to the astonishment of the king, it 
was only to announce, that Peter, apprised of his treachery, 
had intercepted all his plans, destroyed his army, and carried 
off his treasures ; and, instead of an ally, Charles found a fu- 
gitive, who relied upon his protection, and who was pursued 
by the same troops that had ruined him. 

At this eventful moment, Levenhaupt arrived ; not with 
the J 5,000 Swedes he had led out of Sweden — not with the 
convoy of provisions and military stores, to replenish the ar- 
my of the king — but with the news, that the Czar had attack- 
ed him, on the 7th of October, 1708, nearthe town of Lerno, 
upon the Boristhenes, with a greatly superior force ; that he 
had had the honor to rout the Czar, in five successive engage- 
ments, and had cut his way throuj^h the Russians, with the 
loss of ten, or twelve thousand men, together with all hi^ 



SIEGE OF 5ULT0WA. 297 

Gonroy of provisions and military stores, and after suffering 
incredible hardships, to penetrate to the camp of the king, 
with this handful of men. 

The memorable winter of 1709, had now set in. In the 
midst of these disasters, Charles made a movement to seize 
on the townof Pultowa, (a strong magazine of the Czar's, up- 
on the eastern extremity of the Ukrain,) defended by a regu- 
lar force of 10,000 men, and covered by the Czar, with an 
army of 70,000. The Swedish king had now about 30,000 
men : 2000 of these, he had the distressing mortification to 
witness the loss of, by the severity of cold and hunger, on 
his march to Pultowa. 

On the lOih of May, he sat down before the town, and 
commenced the siege. During the operations of the siege, 
Charles received a wound in his heel, which deprived him of 
the use of his leg, but not of his spirits. On the llth of July, 
the Czar advanced to the relief of Pultowa : Charles march 
ed out of his trenches to meet him, carried on a litter. 

This was not the action of Narva ; the Russians were now 
trained to arms and discipline. The Swedes charged the 
Russians with their usual impetuosity ; the Russians were 
routed ; the}'^ recovered, and rallied to the charge, penetrated 
the camp of the king, three times shot away his litter, and 
after a desperate conflict of two hours, routed and destroyed 
his army. Charles fled on horseback ; and attended with a 
few of his principal officers, and a few stragglers, (in all about 
three hundred,) took refuge with the Turk?. 

Thus closed the most brilliant, but mad career of glory, the 
world had ever witnessed, since the days of Alexander ; and 
the fatal battle of Pultowa, sealed the fate of Charles XII. 
with a long adieu to all his visionary schemes, to all his great- 
ness ; placed his rival triumphant upon the throne of the 
Czars, as the arbiter of the north, and secured to him the 
prosecution of all his vast plans and enjoyments. 

Peter pushed the enlargement and improvements of his fa- 
vourite city, extended the contemplated canals, amended his 
code ot laws, to govern, tame and civilize his subjects; ex- 
tended his commerce, manufactures and agriculture, by eve- 
ry possible encouragement; and thus triumphed over Charles, 
by the greatness of bis life, as well as by the feats of his arms. 

The war which the Spanish succession had kindled in the 
south, still raged with viol^^nce ; but the fall of Charles Xlf. 
damped the ardor of Lewis XIV. and led him to despair of 



£98 CHARLES XII. IN TURKEY. 

that aid, which he had vainly hoped for, from the king of Swe- 
den, and make humiliating concessions, with overtures for 
peace ; concessions, such as nothing but the overbearing de- 
mands of the allies could have rejected. The spirit of the 
parties was not yet tamed, and the war continued to rage. 

Peter restored the sovereignty of Poland, to Augustus ; de- 
posed Stanislaus, expelled the Swedes, took possession of the 
provinces upon the Baltic, and gave peace to the west. 

Charles, agreeable to a generous maxim of the Turks, was 
honourably received, and conducted to Bender, (a frontier 
town on the north of Turkey in Europe,) and saluted, upon 
his arrival, with a discharge of artillery — where agreeable to 
his wishes, he and his retinue were lodged in a little camp, 
on the banks of the Niester. 

Charles and his camp, became the objects of the day; 
were visited by all the neighbouring country, and became the 
resort of strangers. His temperance and devotion endeared 
him to the Turks, and they were ready to acknowledge him 
as a true mussleman. 

Charles repaired to Bender, with a design to kindle a war 
between the Turks and Russians ; and he commenced his in- 
trigues with the sublime Porte, immediately, for that purpose, 
through the influence of his envoy, and his friend, Poniatow- 
ski, a Polish nobleman ; who commixed with the Turks, in 
free and familiar intercourse, and often presented the king of 
Sweden's memorials to the Sultan, Achmet III. on his way 
to mosque. By this means, he obtained the favors of the 
Sultan, for the king of Sweden, and at the same time caused 
the grand vizier to be deposed, ► 

One instance of these intrigues, was conducted in the fol- 
lowing manner : — " The grand Seignior goes every Friday to 
mosque, (a Mahometan temple,) surrounded by bis Solacs, 
or guards, whose turbans are adorned with such high feathers, 
as to conceal the Sultan from the view of the people. When 
any one has a petition to present, he endeavours to mingle 
with the guards, and holds up the paper aloft. Sometimes 
the Sultan condescends to receive it himself; but h;; more 
commonly sends an Aga to take charge of it, and causes it 
to be laid before him on his return from mosque. Poniatow- 
ski had no other method of conveying the king of Sweden's 
complaint to Achmet." 

Tloe effects of this petition were, a present from the SuKan 
to the king, of twenty-five fine Arabian horses; one of which 



TRIUMPH OP PETER THE GREAT. 299 

having carried his sublime His^hness, was covered with a 
saddle ornamented with precious stones, and furnished with 
stirrups of pure gold — accompanied with a polite letter, with 
marks of approbation towards the vizier ; but he was soon 
banished to Crim Tartary. 

The new vizier was as averse to war with the Czar, as the 
former, and endeavored to persuade Charles to return home ; 
gave him eight hundred purses, of five hundred crowns each, 
to defray the expenses of his journey ; but all to no effect : 
Charles was not ready. The Czar was on the throne of Rus- 
sia, and Charles was determined the Turk should take him 
ofif. To accomplish this, he ceased not to insinuate, that the 
successes of Peter, would enable him to gratify his ambition, 
and make himself master of the Black Sea, subdue the Cos- 
sacs — carry his arms into Crim Tartary, and even threaten 
Constantinople- 



CHAP. IV. 

Peter I. enters Moscow in triumph — War between Turkey and 
Russia — perilous escape of Peter I. — Peace — intrigues of 
diaries XIL — Battle of Bender — War rages in the Swedish 
provinces of Germany » 

During these intrigues of the fudtive king, Peter the greaf, 
appeared at the head of his empire in ail the majesty of a 
great monarch. To impress his own subjects, and the world 
with the splendor of his arms, and the mag.nitude of bis vic- 
tories — after he had placed Ausustus upon the throne of Po- 
land, and given peace to the north, he made a triumphant en- 
try into Moscow, in a most splendid and magnificent style, 
after the manner of a Roman triumph — under seven trium- 
phal arches, decorated in the most superb style ; the whole 
illustrative of the conquests at Pultowa, by a display of the 
trophies of that victory. 

A regiment of guards led the procession, followed by the 
artillery taken from the Swedes, each piece drawn by eight 
horses, covered with scarlet housings, hanging: down to the 
ground ; next the Swedish kettle drums, colours, and stand- 
ards, carried by the officers and soldiers who had captured 
them, succeeded by the finest troops of the Czar — and in sue- 



300 WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND TURKEY. 

cession to these was drawn the litter of Charles X[I. on which 
he was carried at the battle of Pultowa, all shattered by the 
cannon shot, and displayed conspicuously upon a chariot — 
then in a train followed all the Swedish generals, officers and 
soldiers taken at Pultowa, two and two, together with the 
kina of Sweden's prime minister. 

Next followed the Czar, mounted on the same horse he 
rode at the battle of Pultowa, and followed by the generals 
who commanded on that glorious day. A vast train of wag- 
ons loaded with Swedish military stores, preceded by a re- 
giment of Russian guards, closed the grand procession. 

This splendid and magniiicent display, opened a new field 
for the admiration of these untutored sons of the north, inspir- 
ed them with veneration for the Czar, for their country, laws, 
religion and arms, and excited a new spirit of emulation in 
Russia. Charles availed himself of this triumph, to gratify 
his own malignant mortification, by representing through 
fresh intris'ues, the dangerous ambition of Peter ; caused a 
second grand Vizier to be deposed, and obtained a successor 
to his wishes ; him he inspired with the spirit of war. Ach- 
met himself, had now caught the flame, and the Janizaries 
were ripe for a war with Russia. 

The vizier assembled an army of two hundred thousand 
men, imprisoned the Russian ambassador in the seven tow- 
ers, (which is the Turkish method of declaring war.) and 
prepared to enter the dominions of the Czar. Peter, upon 
the first intelligence, withdrew his troops from Polan«l, and 
the provinces of the west, and prepared for the conflict. — 
The vizier assembled his army, according to custom, in the 
neighborhood of Adrianople, and in three days after the first 
review, took the field, and commenced operations. 

Peter had already taken the field ; on his way to the thea- 
tre of action, he entered Moldavia, received the submission of 
this Turkish province, and the governor, prince Cantemir, 
became his ally in the war. This inflamed the confidence of 
Peter ; he advanced into the heart of the province, upon the 
river Pruth, near to the capital. The vizier advanced to 
meet blm, with an army of 250,000 ; crossed the Pruth, and 
invested Peter in his camp. 

Thus caught in the toils, Peter saw himself involved in the 
same error of the king of Sweden at Pultowa, and that the 
fate of his army must depend upon the fate of an action, 
upon the most un&ivorable termst 



i'EACt. 30 1 

At this critical moment, count Poniatowski (who accom- 
panied the vizier) sent an express to the kin^ of bwedeh at 
Bender : Charless rode post night and day, to witness the fill 
of his rival. Peter attempted to withdraw in the night, but 
the Turk discovered the movement, fell upon his rear, and 
threw his army into confusion : they rallied, and made a firm 
stand against two successive attacks. The vizier then charg- 
ed his operations, and invested the Czar in his camp ; this 
reduced him to the alternativ*' of starving or fighting, under 
such disparity of numbers, with a victorious enemy. 

Pet»ir retired to his tent in despair, resolved to try the 
dreadful experiment of forring his way at the point of the 
bayonet, with oC-.^OO men, through an army of 250,000, 
flushed with their recent successes — and forbade any one to 
approach his tent. 

In this critical moment of distress, Catharine, whom from 
a country girl, he had made empress, ventured to repair to 
his tent ; she flung herself at his feet, and entreated him to 
permit her in his name, to ofl'er proposals of peace to the 
grand vizier ; Peter consented : she presented him a letter, 
he ^igned it; she selected an officer on whom she could de- 
pend, i.nd despatched the letter, with a present, according to 
custom, and received for answer from the vizier : " Let the 
Czar send me his prime minister, and I shall then consider 
wh.it is to be done." 

The chancellor of Peter repaired to the camp of the vizier,- 
a negociation took place, accompanied with a cessation of 
arms, for six hours ; and a treaty was concluded, in which 
Peter stipulated — " to restore Azoph to the Porte, destroy 
the harbor of Sangerou, and demolish his forts on the Palus 
Meotis, withdraw his troops from Poland, give no further dis- 
turbance To the Cossacs, and permit the king of Sweden to 
return to his own dominions." 

At the eventful mom erst, when the treaty was signed, and 
Peter wis enjoying the fullness of plenty in bis camp, pio- 
tectcd by a peace, arrived Charles Xll. Stung with chagrin, 
mortification and disa|)pointment, at the folly of the vizier, 
the escape of his enemy, the ruin of all bis efforts, anJ the 
disappointment of his high expectations ; he flew to the tent 
of the vizier, reproached him keenly for the treaty he had 
mude ; threw himself on to his sopha, and with an eye of in- 
di<rn;mt sconi, thrust out his leg, entangled his spur in hi* 
robe, purposely tore it ; rose with the most sullen silence, and 

?6 



362 BATTLE OF BENDER. 

returned to Bender. The treaty was received at Constanti- 
nople with applause and public rejoicings, yet Charles found 
means to be revenged on the vizier, anji he was disgraced. 

This aflfair did not rest here. Charles was not so fortunate 
in the next vizier ; his supplies, of 500 crowns per day. were 
withdrawn, together with the rich supplies of his table. The 
sultan became deaf to all further thoughts of war with Rus- 
sia, and determined to send out of his dominions, this in- 
triguing, fugitive king. 

The sultan wrote Ciiarles to this effect with his own hand: 
and after styling him '' Most powerful among the kings who 
worship Jesus, brilliant in majesty, a lover of glory and hon- 
or," he positively assured him that he had laid aside all fur- 
ther views of war with the Czar, and pressed him to return to 
his own dominions. 

Charles was not yet read}^ to go : he did not comply — but 
continued his intrigues. The sultan sent to Charles to pre- 
pare immediately for his departure ; with 1200 purses, under 
the care of the bashaw of Bender, to provide for his journey. 
Charles deceived the bashaw, got the money, but still refused 
to go : this occasioned the bashaw much trouble and address 
to save his head. 

The sultan assembled his divan, in which it was advised to 
send away the king of Sweden by force. The bashaw of 
Bender x^oramunicated this order to the king of Sweden : 
Charles replied, " Obey your master, if you dare, and leave 
my presence immediately." The Bashaw obeyed, and pre- 
pared to execute the sultan's orders : Charles prepared to re- 
sist, and the bashivv besieged him in his little camp, drew up 
his army of Turks and Cossacks, opened his lire from his ar- 
tillery, and advanced to the charge ; the camp was carried, 
and 300 Swedes made prisoners. 

Charles being on horseback, dismounted, and took to his 
house : here, amidst his general officers and domestics, he 
made a stand with musketry, against the assault of the whole 
Turkish force. By a spirited fire from the windows, they 
jkilled about 2u0 Turks. The Turks fired the house ; and 
when the roof fell in, Charles, by the advic«^ of one of his 
attendants, rushed out of the flames, at the head of his little 
band, and with the sword attempted to cut his way through 
the Turks, to the Chancery house, and there make a stand. 
Pressed by the Turks, he tripped with his spurs, and fell ; the 
Janizaries seized him, and bore him away. The bashavv re 



CHARLES XII. RETURNS TO SWEDEN. 60o 

ceived him in his own house, guarded him close ; but treat- 
ed him like a king. The next day he sent him to Demirtash, 
near to Adrianople : here he learnt that king Stanislaus was 
a prisoner amongst the Turks: here he renewed his intrigues, 
and complained to the sultan of the unprecedented severity 
of his treatment. The sultan covered his own character, by 
a general sacrifice of his ministers ; but Charles remained a 
prisoner, and to avoid being sent away by force, took to his 
bed, and lay ten months, served alone by his principal officers. 

During these scenes, the generals of Charles were perform- 
ing feats of valor, in defending his provinces in Germany, 
from the ravages of the Danes and Saxons. The allies bom- 
barded the city of Stade, in the duchy of Bremen, and re- 
duced it to ashes. Steenbock, the Swedish general, defeated 
the allies in a desperate battle, and revenged the barbarity of 
Stade, by burning Altena, a city of the king of Denmark. 
Fired with the spirit of his master, Steenbock did valiantly ; 
but a junction of the Russians, with the Danes and Saxons, 
drove him into Holstein, besieged him in Toningen, and 
made him a prisoner, with all his army. 

The baron De Gortz then undertook to manage by in- 
trigue, the affairs of the king of Sweden, and effect by nego- 
ciation, what Steenbock had failed to accomplish by arms. 



CHAP. V. 

Charles XIL returns to Sweden ; defence of Slralsund ; naval 
operations upon the BalHc ; Peter I. enters Petersburg in 
triumph ; fall of Stralsund. 

Despairing of success from his intrigues, tired of this inac- 
tive life, and alarmed for the fate of Sweden, Charles roused 
from his confinement and prepared to depart. The Vizier 
furnished him with an escort and supplies according to his 
wishes, and he set out by the way of Germany with sixty load- 
ed waggons, and an escort of three hundred horse to return to 
Sweden. On the confines of Transylvania he dismissed his 
escort, took leave of his friends, and attended by one officer, 
rode post night and day through Germany, and arrived at 
Stralsund November 21, 1714. Here he passed the winter, 
making general arrangements to prosecute the war with vig- 
or in the spring. 



364 NAVAL VICTORY AKD TRIUMPH OF rETEIl !. 

The war which the Spanish succession had kindled in th*' 
south of Europe, and which had raged with so much violence 
in Fianders, Spain, Italy, Germany, and upon the ocean, was 
now hushed to peace by the treaties of Utrecht and Rastadt, 
March, ITH. 

The flame of war, which was kindled under the northern 
league, against the young king of Sweden, had never been 
extinguished ; the parties were now exerting all their efforts 
to accomplish their grand purpose, and divide up Sweden. 
Prussia, Denmark and Saxony were ready to invest Stralsund 
at the opening of the spring. Peter, with a fleet of thirty ships 
of war, the fruits of his own persevering genius, and in part, 
the labors of his own hands, rode triumphant upon the 
Baltic. 

He became, from actual experience, the best carpenter, ad- 
miral and pilot of the north ; this he acquired by the succes- 
sive grades of merit, from the lowest service up to the high- 
est ; he became admiral, as he becami 
dock-yards, and general in his armies. 

Peter, having completed the reduction of Finland, put to 
sea with a fleet of thirty sail of the line, eighty gullies, and 
forty half-gallies, with twenty thousand land forces, all from 
his new port of Cronslot, near to Petersburg, to make a de- 
scent upon the Island of Aland, on the coast of Sweden, near 
to Stockholm. 

He created Apraxin admiral of this fleet, and served as vice- 
admiral himself. On the 16th of July, 1714, he fell in with 
the Swedish fleet, commanded by vice-adaiiral Erinchild — 
an action commenced which lasted three hours The Czar 
attacked the Swedish vice-admiral, and took him, after a se- 
vere engagement ; sixteen thousand troops were landed on 
the Island, at the same time ; they took and carried on board 
the fleet all the troops found upon the Island, and Peter re- 
turned to Cronslot in triumph ; with the vice-admiral's ship ; 
three others, one frigate, and six gallies, the trophies of his 
victory. Having assembled his fleet, he set sail, and entered 
the harbor of Petersburg amidst the triple discharge of one 
hundred and fifty pieces of cannon. 

Here commenced a new scene. This Petersburg, where 
in the year 1700, not one solitary house was to be seen, where 
not even a fishing boat was to be found, and when the great 
founder of it was a common carpenter in the dock-yards of' 
Holland, now displayed the magnificence of tliirty four thou- 
and five hundred houses, in the most superb style of modern 



THE CONTRAS'l'. 305 

architecture. That port, which Peter had formed with inde- 
fatigable efforts and labor, now witnessed the tt iumpiiant en- 
try of a victorious fleet of thirty sail of the line, with the pri- 
zes of the Swedish fleet: and to crown the whole, the Czar 
repeated at Petersburg the splendor of the triumphs of Mos- 
cow ; he made his triumphant entry into Petersburg, and 
amidst the display of the trophies of his victory, the Swedish 
vice-admiral graced his train. The conquests of Peter, were 
devoted to the benefit of Petersburg : all that was valuable 
in manufactures, and the arts and sciences, were destined to 
enrich and improve his new capital. Triumphant over Swe- 
den, by land and sea, he now became the arbiter of Poland, 
and held the balance between Augustus and his nobles. 

Charles XII. all this time, was intriguing in Turkey, fight- 
ing the bashaw of Bender, or lying a bed ; and having rode 
post fifteen days and nights, was noAv prepared to defend 
Stralsund against the allies. Plis country in his absence, had 
been .ravaged and despoiled of nearly all his foreign posses- 
sions ; her veteran troops, once so formidable, had fdlen, 
wasted and perished : more than one hundred thousand were 
prisoners in Russia, and as many more, the Tartars had sold 
to the Turks ; and the enterprise and ardor of Sweden, had 
wasted with her commerce, her money, her credit, and her 
troops. 

The scales were turned : Peter now stood on that high 
ground, which Charles had abandoned ; and Charles, in his 
turn had to begin anew. Charles, having arranged the de- 
fence of his kingdom, prepared to defend Stralsund. His ar- 
rival had rekindled the ancient spirit of Sweden ; man vied 
with man, in the general preparations. The Prussian and 
Danish fleej;, sunk and destroyed five Swedish ships before 
Stralsund. 

Peter rode triumphant before Stockholm, with twenty- 
ships of the line, one hundred and fifty transports, and 30,000 
men threatening a descent ; he filled all Sweden with alarm. 
At the same time, he overran and subdued all Finland, east 
of the Gulf of Bothnia, and held possession. The king of 
Prussia seized on the island of Usedom, and the city of Stetin, 
at the mouth of the Oder, and dispossessed the Swedes. 

During these operations, Charles conducted the defence 
of Stralsund, with a garrison of 9,000 men ; besieged by the 
kings of Denmark and Prussia, at the head of 36,n00 men. 
Stralsund was a place of great strength and importance, in- 

26* 



3G6 BATTLE OF RAGEK. 

accessible by land, and considered so by water ; defended 
by Charles XII. who was confident it could noT be taken. 

An accident discovered to the besiegers, that the fortress 
which protected the city, was accessible on the side of the 
sea, and that the Baltic receded under a strong west wind, 
and left bat three feet of water. The besiegers availed them- 
selves of this ; the same night a party of 1800 men plunged 
into the water ; at the same time, another party of 2,000, 
commenced an attack by land. The troops in the water 
penetrated to the walls, entered unobserved, and carried the 
fortress with a cruel slaughter : part of the garrison fled to 
the town ; the conquerors pursued, and -entered, with the 
fugitives ; but their course was arrested at the drawbridge — 
they were all taken, and the town saved. 

The besiegers attempted to make a lodgment upon the 
island of Rugen, opposite the harbor of Stralsund. This 
place Charles knew the importance of securing : to this end, 
he repaired to Rugen, with a few of his principal officers, to 
encourage and support the little garrison of 2,000 men, who 
were stationed for its defence. The same night the besieg- 
ers sailed to the inland, with a fleet of transports, carrying 
15 060 men under the command of the prince of Anhalt. 
The cautious prince, intrenched his camp, in the dead of 
night, with a deep ditch and chevaux-de-frise, with as much 
caution and strength, as if he knew the king 6f Sweden had 
been there with his array. Charles, apprised ofthe landing, 
but ignorant of the force of the enemy, drew out his little 
band, marched three leagues in dead of night, and at two in 
the morning, his soldiers began to pull up the chevaux-de- 
frise. This gave the alarm ; and the prince and his party 
stood to their arms. Charles advanced, and discovered the 
ditch ; struck with surprise, he leapt into it, and his soldiers 
followed his example : by the greatest personal exertions, 
they penetrated the camp — the action commenced — the im- 
petuosity ofthe Swedes bore down all before them ; but the 
weight of numbers soon checked the onset. The enemy 
rallied, and charged in their turn ; the conflict was desperate 
■ — the Swedes retired — Charles fled, ignorant of his pursuer — 
the prince pursued, alike ignorant of those who fled before 
him : Charles rallied his troops to the charge — the carnage 
was terrible — the kmg witnessed the f^ll of his fivorites, Gro- 
thusen, and general Dardoff, by his <^ide. Deering, who rode 
post with him through Germany, fifteen days, lay dead at his 



FALL OF STRALSUND. 307 

iieet. Charles was then announced by name, by a Danish 
lieutenant, who knew him, and had seized him by the hair, 
and with uplifted sword, was ready to sever his devoted head. 
Charles drew a pistol from his sash, and shot the lieutenant 
dead in the act. The name of the king, thickened the cloud 
about him, and he received a ball under his left breast. At 
this critical moment, Poniatowski, who had saved the king 
at Bender— appeared with his horse, penetrated to the king, 
and set him thereon ; the Swedes retired to their fortress, 
and secured the king. The next day he abandoned his brave 
Swedes to their fate, returned to Stralsund, and his little band 
surrendered prisoners of war 

The brave count Villelongue, who jeoparded his life for 
the king, at Adrianople, was taken at the head of that French 
regiment, which joined the king of Sweden in Poland, when 
taken from Augustus ; and now passed into the service of the 
prince of Anhalt. Shut up in Stralsund, Charles felt the se- 
verities of a bombardment — and half the town was in ruins : 
the citizens were all become soldiers, and rallied with cheer- 
fulness around their king. Charles continued to repel the 
attacks and assaults ofthe enemy, until all hopes of resistance 
failed ; he then yielded to the voice of his friends— to aban- 
don a town whose defence had become desperate, and pro- 
vide for his safety. This had now become as difficult and 
dangerous, as the defence of Stralsund. 

It was novv the 20th of December, 1715 ; the frost had 
set in, and the harbor was frozen ; but Charles made the at- 
tempt, in a small tishing boat, accompanied by only ten per- 
sons. They succeeded in breaking the ice unmolested by 
the enemy's shipping ; passed the fort with only the loss of 
two men, from an incessant fire ; landed at Scania, and from 
thence Charles passed to Carlscroon, (the port from whence 
he embarked on his expedition against Copenhagen, in the 
year 1 700. to give law to the north.) The next day Stralsund 
surrendered. Charles rode post to visit' his sister, by ap- 
pointment, on the banks of lake VVeten, and on the next 
day returned to Carlescroon, and passed the winter. 



CHAP. VI. 
hvanonof jYorway — Baron de Gortz — death of Charles XII. 



308 BARON DE GORTZ. 

peace — characters of Peter I. and Charles XII. — Immediate 
causes of the French Revolution. 

Charles had inspired all Sweden with the same zeal 
which he had kindled in Stralsund, and the readiness with 
which they rallied round his standard, and opened their trea- 
sures to supply his armies, gave him such confidence, that 
instead of defending Sweden against a concerted attack from 
the Danes and Russians ; in the month of March, he assem- 
bled an army ; braved the severity of this early season, and 
the greater severity of roads almost impassable ; passed into 
Norway, and laid siege to Christiana. 

This buld stroke gave some eclat to his arms, and excited 
a general attention ; but the approach of the Danish fleet, and 
the want of supplies obliged him to return into Sweden. At 
this time, the intrigues of his prime minister, the baron de 
Gortz, began to take some effect. De Gortz had sown tlie 
seeds of jealousy between Peter, and tl>e states of Germany; 
and was now diffusing the same seeds between Peter, and the 
king of Denmark. He carried his intrigues into all the courts 
of Europe ; favored the pretender in France, and flattered 
Charles XII. with the prospect of invading Scotland ; and in 
short, the operations of war were changed into finesse and 
intrigue. 

Peter at this time again visited Holland and France, to 
perfect that education which he had begun fifteen years be- 
fore. Here he had an interview with the baron de Gortz, 
who obtained great influence, by attaching Peter to that 
mysterious system of politics, he was so insidiously sowing 
throughout Europe, and induced him to listen to terms of 
peace with Charles ; flattered him that the arms of Russia and 
Sweden united, might make an easy conquest of Denmark, 
establish the independent sovereignty of the Baltic, and a free 
intercourse with the ocean ; and hinted, that such a peace 
would guarantee to him the provinces conquered from Swe- 
den, which had been so much the object of Peter. These 
liints, with such others as Peter foresaw were connected with 
them, added to the low state of his funds, led him to listen 
seriously to de Gortz. 

Charles had now recovered some strength, he again enter- 
ed Norway December, 1718, and laid siege to Fredrickshall. 
He opened the trenches in the midst of frost and snow, and 
assisted in person in the most arduous operations. Here, in 



DEATH OF CHARLLS XII. 30& 

3irecting the approaches by star-light, he was killed instant- 
^) hy a grape shot, whicli passed tlirough his head, Charles 
seized the hilt of his sword, and died without a grown 

■ This momentous event, put a new face upon Europe, and 
was followed by a general cessation of arms. The prince of 
ilesse, brother in-law to'Charles, led back the Swedes from 
Norway into their own country, unmolested by the Danes, 
The senate of Sweden ordered the baron de Goitz to be ar- 
rested, tried, condemned, and executed as a mal adviser to 
the king, and an enemy to Sweden. They next elected Ul- 
rica Eleonora (sister of Charle XII ) their queen, and ren- 
dered the crown of Sweden elective : she conferred it upon 
her husband, the prince of Hesse. Sweden soon settled a 
peace with all her enemies, but Peter : he continued the war, 
and ravaged the coast of Sweden, until the peace of 1721, 
which guaranteed to the Czar the provinces of Livonia, Es- 
thonia, Ingria, a part of Carelia, and of Finland. The Czar 
then took the title of emperor, which was acknowledged by 
all Europe. The characters of these two heroes of the north, 
are here drawn at lar^e ; never were two characters so uni- 
formly great, and so uniformly diflerent. The efiects and 
consequences which resulted, are the best comment it is in 
the power of man to make, or language to express ; in the 
effects are displayed the true contrast of their characters. 

We have witnessed iiow ambition without judgment, has 
humbled the first nation of the north ; and how ambition uni- 
ted with judgment, has tamed a wilderness of barbarians, into 
a nation of soldiers ; has created ports, cities, fleets and com 
merce, in the midst of almost impenetrable forests, and rais- 
ed their august author to the high station of arbiter of the north 
Three objects in particular are designed in this minute nar- 
rative of the reigns of Charles and Peter : the first is, to shew 
the history of the two nations, in connection with the other 
nations of Europe ; second the rise, progress and improve- 
ments oftlie Russian nation ; and third, the effects of this, in 
control ing the French revolution 

The north, after the peace that followed the death of Charles 
XII, enjoyed an uninterrupted repose down to the French 
revolution, excepting, such connection as they had with the 
great wars of the south, which we have noticed in the second 
part ; together with a short, but successful war, between 
Russia and the Turks, from 1736 to 1738. We also noticed 
in detail, the efforts of Charles Vill, Lewis XH. Francis T 



w>10 r^rsEs 07 the frehch refoi 

Henry IV. and Lewis XIV. king? of France, to recorer the 
iroa crowD of CnarlerDa^ne. an^ ihe empire cf the west. — 
'fVe noticed aiao. the leads which sprang upia France m the 
reign of Lewis XiV, between the Jansem^ts and Jesuits ; be- 
tvreeQ the king and the parhameot : and the general escite- 
meot of the nation, occ-isioced by like pope's ball Lnigeni- 
tos : the sappressioQ of the Jesnits, and the saspension c: 
the parli^raents by Lewis XV. : alluded briefly to the rise c: 
iitfidel philosophy. We will now parsue the great object c: 
this third part^ and illastrate the origis, causes, effects, and 
operations of the French revolation. ^ 

The lab^DFs of Lather, aod the light of the reformation, hs 
disclosed the mysteries of iaiqcity, and she^m to a certain 
portion of Europe, the fallacy and corruption of aaricol-. 
coafession. the sale of indulgences, pardon and remission c: 
sins, the ab«nrdity of purgatory, and papal sapremacy. The 
expansion given to the mind by the arts and sciences, led th^E 
philosophers of France, and of Europe, to discorer the sam-^ 
mystery of iniqjity throagh another channel : and in their 
tarn to set at denance the corruptions of popery, and the sa- 
premacy of the pope. The bull fnigenitns, kindled the fire 
that rallied the pariie* to the contest. The power of the 
kings of France, had been from the time of Clovis, Pepin, and 
Charlemagne, inseparably interwoven with the supremacy c 
the pope : of coarse Lewis XIV. sapported the ball ; th*^ 
parliiments, the body of the nation together with many c 
the higher, as well as the lower orders of the clei^, oppos 
ed the ball — and the nation was divided into two great par- 
ties; the pope and the king on one side, and the parliament- 
and the people upon the other ; bat the death of Lewis gave 
a check to the qanri-el. The licectioasness which the dak 
of Orleans introd a: ed at conrt. and diff-ised through th- 
nation, diverted the quarrel, until Lewis XV. came to tb , 
throne. The arbitrary spirit of Le^is. led him to espoosr 
the caase of the pope, and the Jesaits : p 
ly espoused the cause of the people. At 
ed in the pope and king, together with the abs ard snpers-. 
tions of the charch of Rome, became the snbje'rts ofdi-pitc 

Here, as in all soch controversies , was di?: 
tremes of the passions : liberty was arrayed &_ 
Hcentioasness against saperstitioa, and science arid pmiosc 
phy, against ignorance and corruption : the canSict was Wc 
lent ; Lewis poshed his powers to the extreme : the parli? 



REVOLUTION COMME.VCLD. 311 

Uients were nrm ; Lewis dUsoli^ed the parliaments ; their 
spirit uas uubroken ; the people cl cmored ; one f-ranciss Da- 
mien, (a fanatic) stabbed tiie kin? ; this brought rira to bis 
senses : he reco\ered ol the wonn*:, and restored the parlia- 
ments. They no'v triumphed in their turn ; they demanded 
that the Jesuit?, who h id caused tne qu irrel, should be sijp- 
P'pssed : Lt^wis complied, abolished their order, gave th m 
up to civil j>rosecutions, and banished them from France. 
The corroplions of their institute were discovered, and ex- 
posed to the world ; their colleges were seized ; their estates 
conti?«.-ateu ; and they became the reproach, of the world. 

Elated v*i;h this great victory, the parliaments attempted 
to limit and humble the crown. They not only refused to 
register certain obiinxious edicts of the king : but commenc- 
ed prosecutions against such authorities, as ilared to oppose 
them :* here ihey were at issue again, and the contest con- 
tinued. 



CHAP. VII. 



Jansenists and Jesuits ; assembly of the States-General ; Rev- 
olution opejied ; Paria becomes one great mob: the king a 
cypher ; flight of the king; convention formed ; nexv Con- 



Is the midst of the disputes in France about liberty and 
prerogative, died Lewis XV and was succeded by Lewis 
XVI. 1774. The great parties which sprang up in the reign 
of Lewis XIV and distracted the reign of Lewis XV. still 
raged'in France. The dis{)ute of the JansenisLs and Jesuits 
about free grace, free will, &:c. had called forth ihe pens of 
the most learned religious writers — the cause^ of liberty, 
igainst civil and ecclesiastical tyranny, called forth also the 
pens of the learned of all classes, excited a general attention 
and inquiry through the nation ; aud all descriptions of char- 
acter became party in the quarrel. 

I The American Revolution, cave a diversion to the vio- 
lence of the contest, for a time ; when that was closed, it rag- 
bd with renewed Violence ; the abolition of the parliament 
lad only increased the flame, until the people, impatient o»" 
ill further restraint, were resolved to govern themselves. 



312 REVOLUTION. 

They accordingly assembled at Versailles, on the 5th oi 
May, 1789, a general deputation from all the sections of 
France, under the denomiu.ition of the States-General, and hs- 
surned a share in the government ; and on the itJth of June, 
they resolved tht^niselves into a natitnini assen-bly. Over- 
awed in some measure by the Swiss gu-irds of the crown, 
they saw the necessity of a milit.irv for<e— ^.h^\ resolved 
that 48,000 citizens should be e*. lulled us natiOi.al g«;u»is, 
and in two days 270,000 men 'Vire oniolled w the city of 
? ti is. These were without arms ; the^ seized on all ti.e de- 
pots of arms thit fell iii thtir "^vay ; an immense mob assault- 
ed the hospital of invaii is, took 30,000 muskets, and 20 pie- 
ces of cannon ; and t jey intercepted ail the couriers of the 
court, and disclos* 1 their disp-^tches. Flushed with these 
successes, (he national assembly sent a deputation to the king, 
with a demand th;'t the large body of troops posted in the 
Champ de jMars. should be withdrawn — the king replied, •' I 
have already made known to you the measures the disorders 
of Paris iiave obliiied me to ad* j-t ; / alone have the right 
to judge of the necessity, and m that respect can make no 
change ;" the troops however withdrew inth*^ night 

On tlie next day, June 14th the peoph\ still in quest of 
arms, went to the baslile. smd sent a small deputation to the 
gnvernor, who were admitted ; soon a firing commenced in 
the prison — this enraged ttie populace ; they flew to the bas- 
tile,with a strong military force ; the governor fired on the 
mob- with cannon and grape ; this threw the populace into a 
i-{,o;e— an assault commenced, tlie governor displayed the 
white tl;5g ; a parley ensued, and a second deputation was 
admitted, and a second firing commenced within the prison. 
This became a signal of general assault ; a violent conflict 
ensued, the prison was forced, the governor was massacred, 
the principal oflicers were executed, and their heads exhibit- 
ed on pol(^ throughout t!ie city of Paris. The prisoners 
were set at liberty, and the keys carried to the national as- 
sembly ; the}' decreed the destruction of the bastile. This 
wns immediately > xecuted, amidst the excesses of those pas- 
sions which fired the populace to take vengeance on the ob- 
jects of their hatred and fury. This violent triumph over ibis 
detested rod of despotism, diffused a generJ spirit of enthu- 
siasm through the nation, and mav be called the tocsin of that 
liberty, which eventually changed the political character' of 
France. The king, alarmed at this outrage, repaired the 



KEV0LUT10i»f. 313 

next (lay to the hall of the assembly, and by a speech, at- 
tempted to soothe th-e violence of the proceedings. 

The die was cast, negociation was at an end, violence had 
commenced, blood had been spilt, and the nation was in arms. 
The explosion had disclosed the passions nhich had been 
ripening for nearly half a century ; and opened the field of 
ha: vest for those seeds, which were sown in the reign of 
Levvis XIV The princes of the blood, the nobles of church 
and state, alarmed for their safety, tied into voluntary banish- 
ment. Fired with resentment at this, the populace took ven- 
geance on 8uch as remained, cut ojT their heads, and exposed 
them in triumph on poles through the streets — August 4. 

The assembly decreed the inviolability of the king, (and 
at the same time abolished all privileged orders, Aug. 1 5,) free- 
dum of opinion in matters of religion, liberty of speech, lib- 
erty of the press, and the rights of man. At this time the 
alarm became general ; the king sent the plate of the crown 
to the mint ; the assembly sent the plate of the church to the 
mint ; a Rational guard of 60,000 men, conducted the king 
from Versailles to Paris, and lodged him in the palace of the 
Thuilleries : the same night, the assembly sent him a depu- 
tation with the declaration of the rights of man, which the 
king accepted. 

Nov. 1. — The assembly decreed the abolition of all letters 
de cachet, and all arbitrary imprisonments, all distinction of 
orders, and the confiscation of ecclesiastical estates ; a free 
toleration in religion, with an equality of privileges. These 
violent proceedings in such rapid succession, alarmed the 
friends of the crown, and led them to attempt a union of ef- 
fort, to check this mad career, rescue the king and govern- 
ment from this licentiousness, and restore the authority of the 
crown. This effort existed only in name, and served only 
to inflame the populace. The system had long been matur- 
ed, and every means was regularly seized to progress the 
plan. A government was now^ fixed in the national assembly ; 
a military force was formed, and armed ; the bastile was de- 
l5tro3^ed by violence, without opposition ; the king was no 
better than a prisoner, or cypher in his palace, his preroga- 
tive was set at defiince, with the decree of the rights of man. 
That clergy, wnich had so violently assisted the crown to 
enforce the bull Unigenitus, were now stripped of their pow* 
Br. by the act of free toleration, and the confiscation of their 
, ^states. Money was now wanting ; this it would not do to 

27 



■314 HEVOLUTION. 

supply by taxes on the people : assignats, or paper money 
was issued, and the Jews of Spain, Portugal, and Avignon 
were decreed citizens of France,. Tanuary 1790, and their ex- 
tra taxes abolished ; the civic oath was administered to the 
king, and the whole city of Paris ; all religious cloisters were 
abolished forever, and their estates confiscated ; the minister 
Neckar sent in his resignation to the assembly ; they decreed 
a monument to be erected to the memory of J. J, Kosseau, 
and that his widow and family be supported at the public ex- 
pense. These were the outlines of the proceedings of the 
assembly this year ; the violent agitation of the public mind 
generally, and the distractions of the city of Paris particular- 
ly, can never be described. 

April, 1791. — The king attempted to go with his family to 
St. Cloud, to pass the Easter holidays : a violent tumult en- 
sued ; here, for the first time, Lewis realized that he was a 
prisoner in his pnlace : here, for the first time, the marquis- 
La Fayette began to realize, that it was easier to excite the 
popular tumult, than to control it ; and that what he and his 
friends had contemplated, as a reform in the government, had 
become a revolution irresistible and uncontrolable. 

The king was compelled to return to the.Thuilleries, under 
a strong guard. The complaints of the king, to the assembly, 
produced no more effect, than the remonstrances of the mar- 
quis La Fayette, to the mob. The king was a prisoner, the 
government subverted, and the efforts of man, could not 
control the violence of the tornado. 

The minister at war, announced to the assembly, that the 
emigrants were assembled on the frontier, to invade France, 
that they had been reviewed by the prince of Conde, that 
their uniform was black, faced with yellow, and their motto-'— 
" Conquer or die." This inflamed the assembly and the na- 
tion like a shock of electricity, they decreed the ashes of Vol- 
taire worthy the Pantheon ; the populace assembled in the 
Palais Royal in Paris, and burnt the pope in effigy ; the vio- 
\enve of the new principles were now displayed, Voltaire was 
deified, and the pope consumed. This was in miniature the 
triumph of the old parlies, the f;dl of superstition, and the tri- 
umph of philosophy ; b>'t Ote triumph of the szn'ord ofCharle- 
viagne zi:cis yet behind the curtain — this was in the hands of a 
set of men who r ad not yet disclosed it. 

The king, aware of the eventful crisis, attempted to con- 
vey his family in a secret flight to Montmedy, a strong town 



REVOLUTION. 315 

on the north of France ; he was recognized on his way, at Va- 
rennes, arrested by the popuhice, and conducted back to Pa- 
ris, under an escort of 30,000 men, and again committed to 
the Thuilleries, June 29. Placards \yere posted upon the 
walls of Paris : *' Whoever shall applaud the king, shall be 
soundly cudgelled : whoever shall insult the king, shall be 
hanged." The general alarm was great ; but the escort was 
conducted with great solemnity, and the national assembly 
became permanent. They sent a deputatioi^ to the king, to 
inquire into the cause of his departure ; and the king assured 
them, it was not his intention to leave the kingdom, but only 
to reside at Montmedy, until the nation became tranquil, and 
the constitution settled ; and remonstrated against the riotous 
abuse, the queen received from the mob, in Paris, and ex- 
pressed his anxiety for her snfety. The queen replied, that 
she only accompanied her family and husband to a ph^ce of 
more safety. The ashes of Voltaire, were, according to the 
decree, removed to St. Genevieve, July 17. This move- 
ment of the king, had kindled anew the flames of the revolu- 
tion. — Robespierre appeared in the Champ de Mars, at the 
head of a vast multitude, who petitioned for the king to be 
dethroned. At this eventful crisis, the famous convention 
toqk place, between the emperor Leopold, and the king oi 
Prussia. 

August 1. — The minister at war announced, tliat the emi- 
grants, to the amount of 8,000, were assembled upon the 
Pi'Ieuse and Moselle, under the prince of Conde,and were sup- 
ported by another body of 10.000, headed by the two broth- 
ers of the king. The spiriC of liberty was now so^vn in the 
j^land of St. Domingo : the colonial ;issembly decreed the 
liberty of the m'llattoes to the floor of fheir assembly. This 
produced great confusion, and became the cause of great 
contention. In this state of things, the new constitution of 
France', was finished, and presented lo the king, by a deputa- 
tion of sixty members, September 14 ; and the assembly de- 
creed, that the constitution be solemnly published through- 
out France. 



CHAP. VIH. 
Lewis XVI. signs ike new Constitution— Clubs of the Feuil- 



■316 NEW CONSTITUTION, 

lans and Jacobins — Decrees of the National Assembly—- 
Treaty of Vienna — Riots in Paris — Coalition — Duke of 
Bruns-witk — Flight of the King. 

The king received the constitulion, and repaired imrae- 
diateJy to the hall of the National Assembly, to sign it. He 
elosed his memorable speech, on this occasion, with these 
words : *' I come, solemnly to consecrate my acceptation ot^ 
the constitutional code ; and I swear to be faithful to the na- 
tion and the laws, and to employ all the power with which I 
am entrusted, to maintain the constitution decreed by the 
National Assembly, and to cause the laws to be executed. 
May this great and memorable epoch, be the cause of re-es- 
tablishing peace and union, and become the basis of the wel- 
fare of tiie people, and the prosperity of the empire." 

The burst of applause which tilled all parties upon the oc- 
casion, cannot be described. A grand festival was given in 
the Champs Elisses ; '* One hundred thousand citizens danc- 
ed upon V.e occasion ; and at the distance of every hundred 
yards, was constructed a highly illuminated orchestra, where 
the musicians played : and the air resounded, every half- 
hour, with the discharge of one hundred and thirty pieces of 
cannon, placed on the banks of the Seine. On a tree, plant- 
ed on the old scite of the Bastile, was displayed the following 
inscription. Here is the epoch of Liberty. We dance on the 
7mins of Despotism. The Constitution is ^finished. Long live 
Patriotism.'" The constituent assembly closed, September 30. 

October 1. — The legislative assembly was organized un- 
der the new constitution, and sat, for the first time. The 
king of the French, despatched letters to all the emigrant 
princes, conjuring them to return to France. They had car- 
ried with them into exile, the seeds of the old quarrel : they 
were not cordial to this new order of things, it went to de- 
vStroy all their power ; and they refused to return. The 
count De Artois declared, that they had taken up arms to re- 
store the Roman Catholic religion, and its ministers, and to 
give the king his liberty and authority. The Assembly pas- 
sed a decree to compel the emigrants to return ; this the king 
refused to sanction. The flames of liberty were nov/ kind 
led in St. Domingo, and the mulattoes burnt three hundre 
bouses. We come now to the eventful period which disclos- 
es, the main-spring which set the vast machine in motion, and 



REVOLUTION. 317 

appeared openly to regulate and control all its movements 
and operations. 

A society of Moderates styled Feuillans, was formed, and 
began to diffuse their influence and sentiments, to regulate 
the government — this society breathed the opinions of reform, 
not revolution, in government ; limited monarchy^ not a re- 
publican system, such as the Marquis La Fayette and others 
contemplated. This club called into view the jacobin club 
— this originated in an assemblage of abont forty literary 
gentlemen in the lifetime of Voltaire, and in the reign of Lew- 
is XV. for the purpose of diffusing general information in 
france, and to counteract the corrupt and despotic power of 
popish superstition, and through the means of a more general 
knowledge, to rouse up the nation to a sense of their rights, 
and of their power, and through the medium of these, to 
open the way for France to recover all her ancient greatness* 

The club of the moderates were opposed to this, and the 
jacobins were then forced from their concealment. They 
assembled regularly, their numbers were small, but their 
names had great weight, and these gave strength, and added 
numbers to the club ; it soon bore down and destroyed the 
moderates. The great plan of this club was, to discuss such 
questions as were most likely to claim the attention of the 
national assembly, and through this medium, influence and 
control that body. To render this the more effectual, a reg- 
ular president, secretary, &c. were chosen, and the debates 
conducted with the greatest regularity. Auditors were ad- 
mitted into the galleries, who caught the spirit of the club, 
and by their applause, proclaimed it through the nation — the 
influence of this club became great, bore down all other clubs, 
and gave law to the nation. 

At this eventful crisis appeared Condercet's manifesto, 
addressed to all states and nations : the national assembly 
decreed it and presented it to the king — two sentences of this 
will be a sufiicient sample of the whole : ''Peace, which im- 
posture, intrigue, and treason have banished, will never cease 
to be our first wishes. France will take up arms, compelled 
to do so, for her internal peace and safety — she will be seen 
to lay them down with joy, the moment she is assured, that 
there is nothing to fear for that liberty, for that equality, 
which is now the only element in which Frenchmen can live." 
Condorcet was a jacobin, and here disclosed the sum of the 

27* 



318 



REVOLUTION^. 



whole matter, which had so long been concealed, and in con- 
cealment wrought such astonishing effects. 

The compact for a mihtary republic was formed, and the 
king was like Charles 1. of England, only a cloak, or tool, for 
this club to work with. January 1, 1792, the assembly pas- 
sed a decree against the emigrant princes — the king of Prus- 
sia publickly declared," that Lewis XVI. having accepted the 
new constitution prevented his acting in his defence." The 
affairs of the revolution began now to excite a general alarm 
throughout Europe — they all knew what France once was, 
and what she had not ceased to become again, viz. the em- 
pire of the west — they dreaded a military republic in the 
heart of Europe, armed with all the resources, military ex- 
perience, and wild enthusiasm of France ; they prepared to 
do something, and at the same time knew not what to do— if 
they lay idle, they feared the union and strength, France 
might gain, in ripening her plans — if they made a movement, 
they feared that it might endanger the king, and drive the na- 
tion to union for their common safety, and kindle with vio- 
lence the torch of war. The king of Bohemia ftnd king of 
Prussia, entered into a secret treaty, to prepare for the worst. 
February 20th, the national assembly published, through 
their ambassadors, to all the courts of Europe, " France re- 
nounces all armaments with a view of making conquests, and 
will never employ her forces against the liberty of any state.'' 
The secret treaty of Vienna was soon known to France, and 
excited alarm. 

Lewis XVI. to secure his own safety, wrote immediately 
lo the emperor : " 1 demand of the king of Bohemia, an en- 
tire renunciation of all coalition and armament, against 
France ; and I declare to him, that if he does not do this, the 
king will regard him from the present, as in a state of war.'* 
The emperor died m 36 houri, and was succeeded by his 
eldest son, Francis II, He immediately, through his minis- 
ter announced to the world, that he had adopted the politi- 
cal system of the emperor, his father. A general change 
took place in the French ministry. At this time, the Eng- 
lish government abolished slavery ; and count Ankerstrom 
assassinated Gustavus 111 . king of Sweden. 

\ new court of inquisition commenced in Frnnce at this 
time, known by the name of the revolutionaiy tribunal : 
nothing Ukf* this bad appeared since the inquisition of old ; 
and a new instrument of death was invented, called the guillo- 



RLVOLUTION. ' 319 

tine, (from the name of the inventor.) These enthusiastic 
sons of liberty, who had inveighed so bitterly against the 
overbearing persecutions of the pope and the crown, were 
now in their turn become the instruments of a pers^ecution, 
tenfold more bitter and bloody than either ; not for orthodoxy 
in religion, but under the sanction of the sacred name of lib- 
erty. They had yet to learn, that the maxim of " compel 
them to come in," was as cruel and unjustitiable, in social, as 
in religious rights ; and that the maxim when applied to lib- 
erty, can no more be justified, than when applied to the bull 
Unigenitus, or the Alcoran. 

The jacobins had carefully originated a new system of lo- 
gic, whicli served as a smoothing plane for the violation of 
every moral principle, and at once destroyed all the sympa- 
thies of the heart. " The end justifies the means :" a worse, 
or more dangerous principle than this, never existed amidst 
the wilds of Gothland ; and the ravages which marked the 
overthrow of the western Koman Empire, with all their ex- 
terminating train, were never founded upon a maxim so cor- 
rupt as this ; but upon their savage usages of war, indispos- 
ing of conquest. 

June 20. — A mob in Paris of 100,000 men, armed with 
muskets and artillery, assaulted the palace of the king, in or- 
der to compel him to come in to their measures, and sanction 
two decrees which he had decK«ned. The gates were thrown 
open, the mob entered the palace ; they presented to the 
king the red cap of liberty, on the end of a pike ; he took it, 
put it on, and the queen with great good humor, distributed 
ribbands and May branches amongst the mob, as they passed 
through the apartments, to the number of 40,000 men in 
arms The king the next day issued a proclamation con- 
cerning these tumults, and complained of the violence done 
by the mob. Francis II. at this time, was elected emperor 
©f Germany at Frankfort, 1792 — and the king announced to 
the national assembl}'. that a Prussian army of 52,000 men, 
wei e on their march agidusl Fringe July 9. — The minister 
for foreign aflfViirs announced, that Germany, Russia, Turin, 
Naples, Rome, Spain and Portugal, bad conspired against 
France ; the assembly decreed the nation in danger, and de- 
nounced fifty-seven persons as guilty of high treason. The 
duke of Rnmswirk published a ch-ar, and laconic manifesto. 

The kin.'.' alarmed at this minifcj^to, addressed a letter to 
the president of the national assembly ; disclaimed all cor. 



320 MASSACRE OP THE GUARDS. 

nection with this movement, and declared, *' that it was to 
the nation that he owed himself — and that he was one, and 
the same with her." At the same sitting, Petion, at the head 
of the commonalty of Paris, appeared at the bar of the assem- 
bly, and demanded, *' that the king be excluded from the 
throne, and a ministerial government be appointed, until a 
new king should be chosen." This threw off the mask, the 
king now realized his fate, he saw before him the grave of 
Charles I. ; he again attempted to escape in the garb of a 
peasant; but was recognized by a centinel, and secured. 
Here appeared the result of the federation in the Champ de 
Mars, of the 18th of July. Their deputation now appeare 
at the bar of the assembly, August 10, bearing a petition, sign- 
ed by thousands of citizens, preceded by a pike, bearing a 
red woolen cap, with this label : '* Deposition of the king." 
Alarmed for his immediate safety, the king, attended by 
his Paris guards, the queen, his sister, and the royal children, 
took his seat by the side of the president, and said : " I am 
come amongst you to prevent a horrible crime, convinced 
that whilst here I am safe." 



CHAP. IX. 

Mob of the 10th of Aupist — bold measures of the Assembly— 
Dumourier — La Fayette — Massacres — National Conventio/i, 
— Trial of Lewis XVI. — Condemnation. 

The materials, which had long been collecting, now took 
tire, and involved the whole city of Paris in the explosion. 
The collection of the mob, on the morning of the 10th of Au- 
gust, together with the alarming rage of the populace, render- 
ed it necessary for the king to take this step. Acts of open 
violence soon commenced : the mob attacked the Swiss 
guards at the palace — the guards made a firm resistance ; the 
conflict became desperate ; a horrible carnage ensued ; and 
the guards were shot down and butchered almost to a man. 
About 25,000 fell in this horrible massacre. The mob en- 
tered the palace in triumph, and with unrestrained fury 
open the apartments, carried off the treasures of the queen, 
overthrew the statues of Lewis XIV. and XV, and h^id them 
in ruins ; and when they had wreaked their rengence on these 



FALL OF LA F-AYETTE. 3*2 \ 

monuments of their kings, and laid waste, by their ravages, 
t-his sanctuary of royalty — they retired and dispersed. 

This horrid scene had filled all Paris with terror and con- 
sternalion : the national assembly were shocked with the out- 
rage, and caught the general alarm : some meniNers trembled 
for their own safety ; others retired, or absented themselves. 
In the midst of this scene of distress, they ordered the roll of 
the house to be called — decreed, and took the following oath : 
*' 1 swear, in the name of the nation, to maintain Liberty and 
Equality, or die at my post." They also decreed, *' that the 
French people be invited to call a national convention ;" and 
"that as the executive power was provisionally suspended, the 
six ministers, now in power, shall become the executive, and 
present the plan for appointing a governor for the young 
prince royal ; and that the king and royal family remain 
under the protection of the assembly, be considered as under 
the safeguard of the law, and their defence be entrusted to the 
national guards of Paris. They denounced as traitors and 
infamous, all who should quit their posts ; and ordered these 
decrees to be proclcumed to all Paris, and throughout the 
eighty-three departments. These bold measures, were re- 
ceived with general applause, through the nation ; and pro- 
duced a torrent of addresses to the assembly, of plaudits and 
congratulations. The ministers, who floated upon the top of 
the popular tide at this time, were Danton, Le Brun, Roland, 
Servan, Monge and Claviere. The royal family was next 
removed from the convent of the FeuiWans, (or moderates,) 
and confined in the temple ; and the marquis l^a Fayette 
moved his army towards Paris, in order to arrest the violent 
proceedings against the royal taraily : but alas 1 it was now 
too late ! He had now to learn in his turn, that it was easier 
to raise, than to control popular tumult. 

The assembl}^ apprised of his movement, decreed his ar- 
rest, and sent a deputation to enforce the decree : the mar- 
quis caused the deputation to be arrested and imprisoned. 
This enraged the assembly ; and they decreed, that the mar- 
quis La Fayette be brought, dead, or alive, to the bar of the 
Assembly. This decree alarmed the marquis, and he fled in- 
to Germany ; he was seized at Rochfort. by the Austrian gen- 
eral, and sent to Namur, and from thence to the strong for- 
tress of Olmutz, in Moravia, where he was attended by his 
wife and daughter, through a long and distressing confinement. 

General Duraourier, who had preceded the marquis in the 



S.2% RIOT^.IN PARIS, 

command, had also attempted a compromise, to save the 
rojyal family, been denounced, and commissioners sent to ar- 
rest, and bring h-im before the bar of the assembly : these he 
arrested, and sent to the Austrian general, as hostages for the 
safety of the king ; and threw himself upon the mercy of 
the emperor of Germany. These two champions ofthe rev- 
olution, now felt the truth of what marshal Ney afterwards 
Said to the emperor Napoleon — " Sire, revolutions never go 
back.''^ The tornado had now acquired such force, that all 
tvho attempted to arrest its course, became like a feather in 
a tempest — they were swept awa3^ 

We come now, to the memorable 2d of September. A 
decree of the assembly, requiiing that all the clergy should 
take the civic oath, had been but partially complied with : 
this opened the way for vengeance to fall upon the old quar- 
rel of Jansenist and Jesuit, with all the bitterness and violence 
of party. A general riot commenced in Paris — another hor- 
rid massacre commenced ; one ex-bishop, and about one 
hundred nonjuring priests were butchered ; the prisons were 
all violated, the debtors released, and a general political mas- 
sacre prevailed. Three or four thousand stained the annals 
of France with their blood, on this memorable day, under the 
sanction ofthe mob, styled Septemberisers. The trophy of 
this infuriated mob of barbarians, was the mangled body of 
the princess De Lamballe, borne in triumph to the temple, 
and exposed to the view of the royal family, with her head 
elevated upon a pole, and presented before the window oit 
their apartment. The assembly passed a silent decree of 
approbation and applause, upon this murderous scene, by an 
oath, *' that they held royalty in detestation ; and swore, that 
no king or monarch, should ever be a stain upon the liberties 
of the people." 

At this time, fifty-four national prisoners of distinction, 
were arrested at Orleans ; and on their way to Saumer, they 
passed through Versailles, where they were attacked by the 
populace, and all butchered : the principal among the suffer- 
ers, were, the duke of Brisac, and the bishop of Maudes : 
and on the same day, ninety priests were butchered at St. 
Fermin. These massacres of the clergy were frequent and 
numerous in Paris, and thronghout France, at this time. 

The assembly decreed, that the marriage covenant mi.^ht 
be dissolved at the request of either party, or upon the sim^ 
pie allegation of incompatibility of temper, in either party, 
or other grounds. 



TRIAL OF LEWIS XVI 323 

The declaration of war on the part of the German empire, 
iigainst France, was announced by the minister ot foreign af- 
fairs : and the assembly)' declared war against Sr.rdiiiia. A 
new epoch was tht-n announced in this scene of horror ; the 
convention had ueen elected, and were then formed in the 
palace of the Thuilleries : M. Gregoire, bishop of Blois, at 
the head of twelve ; ornmissioners, said : " Citizens, the con- 
vention in constituted, and we are deputed to announce to 
you, that it is about to repair here to ( ommence its sittings." 
Th*/ president then said — '' The legislative assembly declares 
its sittings closed." 

October 9, 1792.' — The national convention opened its de- 
crees, with death against all eraigrants. The subject of a 
new constitution, next claimed their attention, and they ap- 
pointed a conimittee to frame one, and present it to the con- 
vention : this committee was composed of sixteen ; at tbeir 
head, stoo<i tfie noted names of Sieycs, Thomas Paine, Bris- 
sot, Danton, Condorcet, &o. At the motion of F>arrere, (one 
of the members of this committee,) a decree ua^ passed, 
" inviting all the fuends of liberty and equality, to present to 
the conuiiitte, in any form, and in any language whatever, 
the plans, methods, or n:eims, which they thought the best 
calculated to form a good constitution for the French repub- 
lic ;" passed with this addition-^" Wfioev^r shall attempt to 
establish royality, or any other system of government, deroga- 
tory to the sovereignty of the French people, shall be pun- 
ished with death." The eventful period, for which the na- 
tional body was organized, was now arrived : the necessary 
previous steps had been taken ; the public mind was now pre- 
pared ; and the unfortunate Lewis XVI. called to the bar of 
the convention, to pass through the awful scenes of Charles 1. 
of En;^land, before the mock parliament. Upon his approach, 
the president thus addressed the king : — 

'' Lewis, the French nation accuses you : the convention 
decreed, on the 3cl of December, that you should be tried by 
itself: on the 6th it was decreed that you should be brought 
to the bar : they are about to read to you the act, which an- 
nounces ihe crimes imputed to you. You m.^y sit down." 

Tbe ac :us;;iion was then read, in the usu^dVorm, and the 
king interrogated upon each charge, by the president — what 
he had to say in Ijis own defence ? At the close, the king re- 
plied—" I desire a copy of the act of accusation, as well as 
of all papers intended to serve as proofs airainst me, and that 



3M CONDEMNATION OF LEWIS XV J. 

I may be allowed council in my defence." Lewis, was then 
p'^r?niUed to retire ; and after some debate, his request was 
gr tilted, and counsel allowed. Me.^srs. Tronchet and Lemo- 
ignon de Malesherbes, became counsel for the king ; the 
}att<^r an ol<l man of seventy eight. The prosecution against 
the unl»appy monarch of France, was conducted in due form ; 
and on the 17tb of J.muary, 1793, his punishment was deter- 
mined by an appel nominal ; (the question was put to each^ 
member, and his answer noted.) 

The president then announced that the number of votes, 
was 721. 

Answers for imprisonment during the war, - - 319 

Answers for perpeturil imprisonment, - - - 2 
Answers for a suspension of the sentence of death, until 

the expulsion of the family of Botjrboi,s, - - 8 
Answers for a suspension of death, unless the French 

territory should be invaded, - - • - 23 

Answers for death, with commutation of punishment, 1 



353 
Answers for death, ------ 366 

Majority for death, 13 
Impressed with the solemnity of the scene, the president 
then rose, took off his hat, and declared, in a low and solemn 
tone of voice, " the punishment pronounced by the conven- 
tion, a^!;ainst Lewis Capet, is death.'* Philip duke ofOrleans, 
a relative of Lewis XVI was a member of the convention, 
and gave his vote, death : but Thomas Paine, voted only for 
banishment. This is that Philip, duke of Orleans, who re- 
quested the convention to give him anew name ; and received 
that of Philip Egalite, (or equality.) The fate of the king 
was announced on the 20th of January, 1793 ; all Paris was 
illuminated, and no person permitted to appear abroad ; the 
whole city was buried in (he most solemn silence, and the 
military in large bodies patroled the streets. 



CHAP. X. 

Execution of Lewis XVI. — violence, of the convention} — Hwr- 



EXECUTION OF LEWIS XT I. 325 

hue Corde — trial and execution of the Queen — triumphs of 
philosophy. 

On Monday, of the Tata], solemn, awful 21?t, about two 
o'clock in the morning:, the gloom of silenct- was here and 
there interrupted, by voices of lamentation in hroken ac- 
cents, expressing the distress of the feelings, and increasing 
the horrors of the gloom. 

Lewis, with great composure and eminence of soul, passed 
Sund>ty in preparing tor the solemn change. The morn of 
Monday came ; the queen, tlie princess royal, the d'Uijhin, 
and madam Elizabeth, took their parting leave of the king. 
The distresses of this scene, may be realized iiy the sensibil- 
ities of a feeling, sympathizing heart, but can never he er^- 
pressed by the pen. Lewis was calm, and |>03sessed a digni- 
fied composure; he retired for a few mom^'uts with his 
confessor, and devoted himself to the soieninities of religion, 
The stroke of eight from the Paris clock, announced the 
^solemn hour ; the royal martyr was led forth to execution ; 
placed in a coach between two soldiers, (<»r gens de arms) he 
was conveyed to the place de la Revolution, amidst a large 
military escort, and an irpmense concourse of people. Lf ais, 
with a firm step, ascended the scaiTold, attersded by bis ciui- 
fessor, and several municipal t;tficers ; with great complacency 
he beheld the multitude, and mnde aa effort io address the 
spectators- — but was slopped by an officer, who exclaim- 
ed, " come, come, no speecbv^s, no speeches :" this was ac- 
cotr.panied by a flourish of music. Lewis saw at once that 
his last hope was cut off. and esciaimed — " i forgive my en- 
emies, may God forgive them, and not lay my innocent blood 
to the charge of the nation ; Gi>d bless my peo[)!e" — he gave 
liis atiectionate blessing to his confessor, stretched himself 
upon the fatal guillotine, and with great serenity met his fate 
—12 o'clock, January 21, 1793. 

Desperation now siezed every department, and witnessed 
every measure in France. The nation was like a ship isi 
the midst of a tempest, without a pilot, tossed with violence, 
and at the mercy of tliC waves, and the slorn). The reqiiest 
of the unhappy king to Ise buried with his fathers, was treated 
by the convention with the silence of apatb.y ; and his hod_y 
was thrown into a pit with quicklime, and consumed. Unc 
of the ex-king's gnards. assassinated Le Pelletiere, one of the 

28 



326 tRIAL OP THE QUEEN. 

convention, whose vote against the king was death ; and th^e 
convention attended his funeral on the 24th, The sanguinary 
scene was opened afresh, and the convention in their turn 
began to bleed ; the righteous vengeance of heaven never 
spared them, until they had by their own blood, made some 
atonement for this outrage on the life of the king. Great heat 
and L)itterness, now marked the proceedings of the conven- 
tion. The barbarian Marat, outraged all common decency, 
in his attacks on the members in debate, with the opprobrious 
epithets of " incendiary, assassin, villian, scoundrel," &c. ; 
which called forth a decree, that " whoever should use such 
injurious language towar<l3 any member, should be expelled.'"' 
Blarat denounced the framers of the decree, as conspirators. 
The convention were now at issue. The violence of those 
passions which had wreaked their rage and fury upon the un- 
fortunate king, were now turned upon themselves. They 
denounced Condorcet as a traitor to his country, and he met 
his fate : to denounce and execute, were now synonymous 
lerms. The famous Charlotte Corde, took vengeance on 
Blarat, and sacrificed him upon the alter of her country, by 
stabbing him to tlie heart ; for which, she suffered death in 
her turn, by a decree of the revolutionary tribunal. The en- 
thusiasm of this iieroine may be learnt from her last words t 
" 'Tis guilt brings shame, not the scaffold." 

During these distressing scenes in the interior of France^ 
their armies under Gen. Dumourier and others, had been suc- 
cessful ; the allies had moved with caution, lest they should 
endanger the life of the king : they w ere now advancing into 
Flanders, laid siege to, and took Valentiennes. This enraged 
the convention, they denounced the queen, ordered her to 
be arrested, and conducted to prison, Aug. 1. The decree 
was executed the same night ; tise queen was roused from her 
re[>ose, and Jiurried in a most ursfeeling manner from her 
family, to her place of confinement, a cell, a dungeon, eight 
feet square™ and doomed to lodge on a couch of straw ! 
Struck with the horrors of the cell, she fell into a swoon, and 
passed the rest of the night, in those violent struggles of na- 
ture, which threaten momentary dissolution. The approach 
of morn, witnessed the ravages of distress upon the graces of 
the queen : she lived ; but greatly changed. She languish- 
ed in this horrid cell, until the 15th and 161h of the month, 
when she was summoned to her trial before this revolution- 
ary tribunal, and after the usual form.s of trial, the jury (after 



EXECUTION OP THE ^UEEN. S2'it 

one hour) returned a verdict of guilty of all the charges al- 
leged. The presidetit then rose, and after the usual ceremo- 
nies pronounced the following sentence : — " The tribunal, 
after the unanimous declaration of the jury, in conformity to 
the laws cited, condemn the said Maria Antoniette, called of 
Lorriaii and Austria, widow of Lewis Capet, to the penalty 
of death ; her goods confiscated for the benefit of the repub- 
lic : and this sentence shall be executed in the Place of the 
Revolution." The queen received this sentence with the 
same composure which she had supported through the whole 
trial. The trial s[um out, through the night ; and at half 
past 4 o'clock in the morning, the queen was re-conducted 
to her cell, in the prison La Conciergerie : no time was al- 
lowed her for reflection or repose ; " at 5 o'clock the generalc 
was beat — at 7 o'clock the whole armed force was on parade, 
cannon were planted upon the squares, and at the extremi- 
ties of the bridges, from the palace, to the place La Revolu- 
tion — at 10 o'clock, numerous patroles passed through the 
streets — at half past 1 1 o'clock, the queen was brought out 
of her cell, dressed in a white dishabille; she was conducted 
to the place of execution in an open cart ; her hair from be- 
hind was cut off ; her hands were tied behind her back, and 
her back turned towards the horse : on her right, sat the ex- 
ecutioner ; on her left, a constitutional priest," (or one who 
had taken the oath to support the constitution.) The queen 
passed to her execution, insensible to the shouts of Five la 
Liberty^ Alms la Tyrannie^ Vive la Republic ; she beheld 
with inditference, the vast military escort of 30,000 men, 
and the j)lacards of libertj^ and equality, posted on the houses 
where she passed ; she ascended the scaffold in some haste, 
cast her eyes upon the populace, with a look took leave of 
her palace, laid her head upon the guillotine, and met her 
fate at 1 2 o'clock, aged thirty-eight : the same place, and 
same hour, witnessed the death of her husband, just eight 
months and twenty six days before. The executioner ac- 
cording to the usual form exhibited the head from the four 
corners of fhe stage ; and the populace as usual, exclaimed, 
Vive la Republic^ Vive la Liberty. Her body was thrown 
into a. grave of quick-lime, in the same place and manner of 
her husband's. 

Thus fell Lewis XVL thus fell Maria Antoniette— king and 
queen of France : victims to the same passions which com- 
tnenced in the reign of Lewis XlVo which occasioned Lewis 



328 HORRORS OF THE CONVENTION. 

XV. to dissolve his parliament, anil which armed the knife of 
the assassin who stabbed the kini^, and by a wound, restored 
the parliaments, and expelled the onler of the Jesuits. The 
same passions were rekindled ; and when transferred from the 
schools of the Jesufis. to the schools of the philosophers, were 
swelled into a migiity blaze, which inflamed the w-hole na- 
tion, and were now shedding torrents of blood, by the revo- 
hitlonary tribunal, guided and controlled by the Jacobin club. 
This c'.ub which commenced under the auspices and di- 
rection of the philosophers of France, had now become very 
bumerous, eoibracing all the choice spirits of violence and 
corruption in the nation. 

The king and queen were now <lead ; and no longer the ob- 
jects of that dread and hatred, which served as a rallying 
point, for the members of the revolutionary tribunal. The 
same fire of ambition and revenge, which destroyed the roy- 
al family, now commenced its ravages upon tlieir own body. 
The allies pushed the war in Flanders England dismis- 
sed the French minister, and proclaimed war against France. 
Honor and alarm siezed on the convention : Brissot, with 
twenty other members, were denounced as conspirators, and 
executed. The ravages of the revolutionary tribunal, were 
marked with blood, through the nation ; mobs, insurrections 
and massacres, rendered all France, one great theatre of car- 
nage, and one dark scene of horror. The ravages of the 
guiliotine, threatened to exterminate the clergy : all fled'that 
conld flee ; others resigned their ecclesiastical functions. 

Gobert, bishop of Paris, with all his grand vicars, divested 
Ihemseives, at the bar of the convention, of their letters of 
priesthood : Lindefc and Gregorie followed their example. — 
Seventy persons were guillotined in one day at Lyons ; oa 
the next day sixty-eight were shot, and eight guillotined. 
' An insurrection in La Vendee, now raged with violence ; 
and the French arms under general Turreu, ravaged the 
country. Philosophy now triumphed over religion, as well 
as over the clergy : the convention abolished all religion, and 
decreed, " there is no God, and death is an eterndl slerp.'^' 



CHAP. XL 
Insurrection in La Vendee ; fall of Robespierre >• Grand Ai 



WAR IN LA VENDEE. 329 

mistice of La Vendee ; Jacobin Insurrection ; death of Lew- 
is the son of the king ; new constitution ; revolution in Hol- 
land. 

The war in La Vendee now claims some attention. The 
causes which produced these sanguinary and distressing 
scenes, were the triumph of philosophy over religion, and 
the triumph of [)hilosophers over every vestige of moral vir- 
tue and the moral sympathies. 

They had announced that the clergy could never have 
raised this world and rendered it subservient to their domin- 
ion and control, if they had not fixed the lever upon the oth- 
er world. They had now struck away all support of the lev- 
er, and announced no God ; and further, that death was an 
eternal sleep. That quiet after death, which had been pur- 
chased with so many pilgrimages, crusades, or holy wars — 
by whole lives of penitential self denial, with the purchase of 
so much money to obtain the viaticum of the holy unction, 
was now rendered free to all, in the doctrine that " death was 
an eternal sleep." 

The churches of religion became republican tribunes, 
where republican principles were to be preached, and the 
disciples of the philosophers to become the orators of the 
day. The national convention decreed, " that the remains 
of Mirabeau should be removed from the Pantheon, and those 
of Marat be put in their place." 

Under the sanction of these feelings and these principles, 
the war raged in La Vendee. Five hundred royalists, pris- 
oners in La Vendee, were shot by order of the commisioner 
Leguino ; the commissioners, Turreu and Prieur, announced 
to the convention a terrible action in La Vendee — six thou- 
sand slain, and three hundred driven into the Loire : this 
reign of Robespierre drenched the convention and the nation 
with blood. 

January 1, 1794, Thomas Paine was arrested, and a depu- 
tation of Americans appeared at the bar of the convention to 
petition for his release ; and to shew him not guilty, but a 
true apostle of liberty. 

Carrier made a report on the war in La Vendee, in which 
he stated that more than 400 leagues were in arms ; that 
the rebels were more than 150, 000 ; that in one battle were 
slain more than 20,000 ; that 4 or 500 prisoners perished dai- 
?y, either by shooting or drowning, and that some pits con- 



330 



FALL 0F ROBESPIERRE. 



tained 5000." Their mode of drowning was to crowd the 
hold of vessels with prisoners, set them afloat on the river, 
scuttle the vessel, and let them sink. 

At this time, the convention decreed the people of color, 
and blacks, in the French West India colonies, all free. A 
terrible denunciation fell on thirteen members of the conven- 
tion, and was sealed with the guillotine ; amongst the number 
were, Danton, Lacroix, Phillippeauz. Robespierre triumph- 
ed again. That jealousy and ambition which raged through- 
out the nation, and marked its ravages with blood, still raged 
in the convention and rendered that body an aceldama. 

Old Malesherbes, who defended Lewis XVI. at the age of 
seventy-eight, was now convicted of corresponding with the 
enemy, and guillotined : and madam Elizabeth, sister to the 
king, met the same fate. Cecilia Regnault, imitating the ex- 
ample of Charlotte Corde, attempted to assassinate Robes- 
pierre and Collot de Herbois, and met the fate of Charlotte 
Corde, the next day — July 27. 

The cup of vengeance was now full ; the tyranny of Ro- 
bespierre and his party, had now become insupportable : the 
vials of wrath were ready to be poured out upon them ; they 
were denounced, and their arrest ordered ; a gens de arms 
attempted to sieze the tyrant ; he* attempted to defend him- 
:?€if with a knife ; a conflict ensued ; he was subdued ; an 
Hct of outlawry was passed against him ; he was ordered for 
immediate execution, with Robespierre the younger, Couthon, 
St. Just, and fifteen or twenty others, creatures of the tyrant : 
and next in turn v.as arrested, Tinvilie, public accuser to the 
revolutionary tribunal. 

In the midst of these revolutionary scenes of distress, the 
world was struck with a republican rhapsody from Geraud, 
upon the subject of national education. After observing that 
France was elevated upon the pinnacle of earthly splendor, 
that the eyes of mankind were fixed upon those doctrines and 
principles which had effaced the ignorance, degradation and 
slavery of fourteen centuries ; that the slaves of despotism 
had been struck with a mortal terror ; a protecting divinity 
iiad elevated her empire upon the smoking ruins of a throne, 
and on the bloody remnants of expiring factions ; he ex- 
claimed : — 

" Mandatories of a great nation ! Let us consecrate a du- 
rable monument to the rising generation ; the Areopagus of 



SUFFERINGS OF LA VENDEE. 331 

Europe ought now to consolidate the majestic edifice of our 
immortal revolution, on the immovable basis of public in- 
struction. Before we abandon the helm of public atiairs, let 
us announce to our constituents, with a true republican bold- 
ness, to France, to all Europe, that we contemplate with one 
inviolable maxim, that without public education, the empire 
of morals must be destroyed." 

That system of education thus contemplated, ought to be 
in operation many centuries in France, to accomplish that 
degree of intelligence and information, amongst the lower 
classes of her citizens, which could enable her to support a 
republican government, even if she could be wholly divested 
of her monarchical prejudices and habits ; and her philoso- 
phers, with all their boasted light and wisdom, ought to have 
known this, or if they did know it, they ought not to have 
built their ambitious schemes upon a foundation, which 
must of course swim in blood. 

We have again witnessed how the blood of the royal mar- 
tyrs has again stained the convention. The following ex- 
tract of a letter from general Danicamp will shew, how the 
war raged in La Vendee. " I will prove that old men were 
murdered in their beds^, that infants were murdered at their 
mother's breasts, and that pregnant women were guillotined. 
I wiil tell you in what place, at what time, and by whose or- 
ders, 1 have seen magazines of all kinds burned. The prac- 
tice of drowning was not confined to Nantz, it extended thir- 
ty leagues up the Loire : 1 will demonstrate that the men 
who now assume the mask of philanthropy, were then the 
murderers." Immediately upon this. Carrier, commissioner 
in La Vendee, was arrested and executed, for the horrid cru- 
elties practised by him in La Vendee. 

February 19, 1795 — An armistice w^as concluded in La 
Vendee, and Carnot presented to the convention a list of the 
principal victories obtained in La Vendee this campaign — 
viz : " twenty seven victories, of which eight w ere pitched 
battles: 121 actions of less importance; 80,000 enemies 
slain, 91,000 taken prisoners ; 11 6 strong towns, or important 
places taken, 36 of them by siege or blockade ; 230 forts or 
redoubts ; 3800 pieces of cannon ; 70,000 muskets ; 1,000,000 
lbs. of powder; and 90 pair of colors — all within the space 
of seventeen months." 

May 5. — Fresh scenes of distress awaited the devoted 
city of Lyons, and she was again doomed to a most shocking 



332 maORRECTION OF PARIS. 

massacre. The noted Tinville, (who prosecuted the queenj 
"With his accorwplices, were executed at Paris the 12th, and 
on tlie 20ih a most terrible insurrection broke out in Paris, on 
the part of the jacobins, to recover the blow they received by 
the fall of Ro->es|)ierre. The deputy Ferrand was assassinat- 
ed in the convention, and his head carried through the hall 
stuck upon a poie. 

Nineteen persons were guillotined in Paris, for aiding in 
the insurrection of the 20th of May. At this time, died in 
his prison, Lewis, son of the late king Lewis XVL .aged 1 1^ 
years. An address from the insurgent chiefs of La Vendee, 
to the king of England, expressive of their grateful recollec- 
tion of the succor afforded them during their arduous strug- 
gle, an<l their hopes of future aid ; shewed, that this insurrec- 
tion was an effort of England, to weaken the arms of France. 
This, with other o])erations on the part of England, led to a 
numerous meeting at Copenhagen-house near London, to pe- 
tition his majesty to discontinue the war. 

At this eventful period, France, opened a new scene : a new j 
constitution was framed, adopted, and a new legislature were ■ 
assembled Dec. 28, organized, and composed of a council of , 
ancients, and a council of five hundred with an executive of 
five, called the directory, who were installed in Paris Nov. 1 ; 
the plan of this executive was, that each should reign in his 
turn. On the 26th of Dec. Charlotte Antoniette, daughter of ; 
Lewis XVL w^as taken from the temple by the minister of 
the interior, conducted to his own hotel, and from thence sent 
to Vienne, where she arrived safe — 1796. 

At this time, parties ran high in England ; Charles Fox 
flattered the populace, and disturbed the government ; their 
majesties were insulted in the streets of Loudon, and the mob 
abused the king's servants. A revolution had commenced 
in Holland ; the stadtholder had retired to England with his 
family, in January, 1795. The national convention of Hol- 
land was organized March 1, 1 796, and citizen Paulus elect- 
ed president. An extract of the order of procession will be a 
specimen of the genius of the Batavian Republic. — " Amongst 
other displaj^s in this splendid procession, appeared a waggon 
covered with cloth so as to conceal its wheels, having three 
benches : on the hindermost, was seated an old man, bowed 
down with age, carrying a flag with this inscription : — * I liv- 
ed in slavery ; but I rejoice in dying free. My posterity whc 



REVOLUTION OF HOLLAND. 33iJ 

are before me, will feel all the benefits.' On Ihe bench be- 
fore the old man were seated two aged women, who repre- 
sented his daughters ; and before them were two men with 
their children on their knees. The horses were led i>y four 
young men, the waggon was surrounded by six burgeose with 
drawn swords, preceded by a herald carrying a banner, with 
this inscription : ' We will protect them that cannot protect 
themselves.' The powerful effect of such a dis[)lay of ad- 
dress to the populace, is more readily felt that described." 

The revolutionary principles which had spread into Eng- 
land, distressed the government ; the military were in con- 
stant readiness to keep the peace : the government ordered a 
national feast. The chief in the insurrection of La Vendee, 
La Charette, was taken prisoner, and shot April 1. Pichegru^ 
who had succeeded La Fayette in Flanders, was now suc- 
ceeded by Gen. Moreau, and prince Charles set out from VI- 
emia to command the Austrian armies. Mr. Pitt brought for- 
ward his budget for a loan of 7,000,000, and Thomas Paiiie 
amused the French directory, with a pamphlet upon the de- 
cay and fall of the English system of finance; which was or- 
dered to be printed and distributed to all the members of the 
national council. On the 22dof June, the insurrection in La 
Vendee was wholly quelled, and the republic acknowledged. 



CHAP. XIL 

State of France — movements of the Armies — Napoleon Bona- 
parte—peace with Spain — conquests m Italy — Milan. 

We have now reviewed in a cursory manner, the distress- 
es of the interior of France, but have omitted the operations 
of the armies for a separate detail, that the events might not 
be blended together, and that the general occurrences might 
be more distinctly marked. The operations of the armies 
now claim some attention. The movements under generals 
Dumourier and La Fayette we have noticed, together with 
the appointment of gen. Pichegru. We have shewn the jaco- 
bin club to be the spriiig of all the movements of the national 
counciig. We have shewn the origin of this revolutionary 
rnob, how it grew into power, by overbearing and destroying; 
the Feuillans, or moderates. 



334 RECAPITULATION. 

These two factions afterwards, became blended in theclub^ 
and in the convention ; they were restrained frora open 
violence and hostility against themselves, during the life of 
the royal martyrs: but when these objects of their attention 
were removed, all restraint was withdrawn, and that balance 
of power, which marked the strength of the parties in their 
sentence upon the king, was at once turned upon itself. — ■ 
These were distinguisiied by the appellation of Girondists, 
and the Mountain j of the latter, were Robespierre and the 
Jaco:)ins. 

Under this government, Dumourier carried the arms of 
France into the heart of Austrian Flanders, and subdued 
Belgium — watched, regulated, directed and controlled by 
comaaissioners from the jacobin faction, in the national coun- 
cil. These sowed the seeds of French philosophy, and 
French liberty, by establishing revolutionary clubs in every 
city they entered ; these clubs inspired the conquered pro- 
vinces, on all sides of France, to pour in their addresses to 
the national council, congratulating them upon their success- 
es, and praying to be incorporated with the glorious republic. 

In the midst of these flattering prospects, the scenes were 
changed — the low state of the finances of France called for 
supplies to conduct her ambitious plans and operations ; the 
Jacobins compelled Dumourier to levy contributions in the 
conquered provinces ; this excited alarm ; these fell short 
of the pressing exigencies of the armies ; they ordered him to 
rifle the churches, seize oa the plate, and apply it to the use, 
of the army ; this struck a fatal blow — the Belgians had not 
yet immolated these altars to French philosophy, denoun- 
ced their God, and buried their religion in the death of eter- 
nal sleep. 

Fired with a just indignation, they resisted the outrage.; 
and by the assistance of the Prussians, drove the French out 
of Belgium. To obviate this fatal rashness, as well as to 
save the king — -Dumourier and La Fayette, attempted a com- 
promise by negociation; both fella sacrifice to jacobin fury, 
and fied into exile. Gen. Pichegru, (who succeeded to the 
command in 1 794,) sensible of the rock, on which both par- 
ties had split — by his popularity healed the breach, secured 
the conquest of the Low Countries, and penetrated into Ho! 
land. The Dutch, alarmed for their safety, inundated theii 
country about Amsterdam, and made a firm resistance. 

In the month of January, 1795, the frosts were go severCi 



IBALL OF AMSTERDAM. 335 

that the ice became passible ; and Pichegru moved his army 
across into Amsterdam, and it fell an easy conquest to the 
French. AVilh the fall of Amsterdam, the other provinces 
of Holland fell in quick succession : their Stadlholder and 
basik were removed to England, January, 1795, and on the 
1st of March, the republic of Batavia was organized. 

The factions in the French convention, kept the example 
of Cesar, in his triumph over the Roman re])ublic, and the 
example of General Monk, in the restoration of Charles I. of 
England, as great reflecting mirrors, constantly before their 
eyes. To guard against a repetition of these examples, they 
ke{)t their commissioners with their armies, to watch their 
generals. The succes?ful campaign of general Pichegru, ex- 
posed him to this jealousy ; and he was regularly succeeded 
in command, by general Moreau — who was appointed by 
the convention, to lead the expedition of the French aimy 
upon the Rhine and Moselle. 

General Jourdan was appointed to the command of anoth- 
er army on the Meuse. The object of these two armies 
was, to pursue the former plans of France in their Avars— 
(as far back as Francis I. ) to penetrate into Germany, form a 
junction upon the Danube, and march down to Vienna, and 
there form a junction with another arniy, destined to pene- 
trate by the way of Italy and the Tyrol. The command of 
this third army was entrusted to general Bonaparte, \Aho was 
raised to this important command, at the age of twenty five. 

As this campaign was one of the most important the French 
had then ever witnessed, on the side of Italy, I will give a 
short sketch of the origin of this young hero of France. 

Napoleon Bonaparte, was born on the island of Corsica, in 
the year 1769 ; he received his education, partly in France, 
and partly at Padia, in Italy, at the military school : he en- 
tered the French service, as a military adventurer, and pas- 
sed without much notice, until the famous massacre of Paris, 
on the loth of August ; here he so distinguished himself by 
his coolness and firmness, in protecting the directory, that 
they raised him to the command of the army of Italy. When 
he had accepted the trust, he was interrogated by some 
friends, with this question : " Are you not too young a man, 
to take command upon so distant an expedition ?" to which 
the young general replied — " 1 shall be older when I come 
back." 

Spain, at this time, made a part of the coalition against 



336 6BNERAL EGNAI'JR1:Ec 

France. General Bonaparte made a sudden movement with 
his army towards Spain, crossed the Pyrenees, entered the 
northern provinces, without mnch opposition, settled a sepa- 
rate peace, returned inttJ France, and pursued his march into 
Italy. On the plains oCMoritenotle, he gained his first victo- 
ry, over general Bolieu ; his second victory over the united *" 
Austrians and Piedm^fjiese at Milessinio ; and his third, 
at Mondovi, over th;^ same forces ; and he announced to the 
directory, the capture of twenty-one stands of colors. The 
following extract of an addn^ss. published hy general Bona- 
parte, to thc'municifjaliliesof Milan and Pavia, may serve as 
a Sj>ecimen of tiie artful policy of general Bonaparte. 

" The scii^ices, which do honor to the human mind ; and 
the arts, which enibeiiish human life, and transmit illustri«»ns 
act'* :>ns to postenty, should be j)eculiarly resjiected in all free 
governrrents. Ail men of genius, all who have obtained a 
dJstinguisiied rank in the repuL'lic of letters are Frenchmm^ 
whfiiever may be thecountiy? in which they were horn. The 
stales of Milan did not enjoy the consideration to which they 
were entitled : ineloged in the recesses of their laboratories, 
tliey esteemed themselves happy, if the kings and priests 
v,ere good enough to do them no harm. At this day, it is 
Dot s;>: opinions are free in Italy. Inquisitions, intolerance, 
and despots are no more. 

" I invite the learned to assemble, and to propose to me, 
their views, their names, or the assistance they may want, to 
give new life and existence, to the sciences and fine arts. All 
those who may be desirous of going to France, shall be re- 
ceived with distinction by the government. The people of 
Fiance, set a greater value upon the acquisition of a learned 
mathematician, a painter of reputation, or any distinguished 
man, whatever may be his profession, than in the possession 
of the richest, and most abundant aty. Be you then, cili- 
zens, the Ofgan of these sentiments, to all persons in the Mi- 
lanese, distinguished for their learning." 

The effects of this popular stroke were best expressed by 
the exhibition of popular applause, which witnessed his tri- 
umphant entry into the city of Milan. Gen. Bonaparte wbs 
met by a deputation of the council general, who presented 
him with the keys ; tlie deputation, with the arch bishop at 
their head. accompanied by the magistrates and noblesse, with 
their splendid equipages, followed the general in grand pro- 
ctJSsioD, as he advanced into the city of Milan, preceded hy 



CAMfAIGN OP ITALY. 33^ 

a large detachment of infantry, and his guards — the national 
guard of the Milanese closed the procession. 

This procession moved with great order to the archducal 
palace, as the quarters of the general, where he was enter- 
tained with a grand dinner of two hundred covers ; French 
and Italian music graced the scene with alternate airs — vive 
la liberty, vive la republic filled the great square around the 
tree of liberty. The ladies of Milan, dressed in the national 
colors of France, gave splendor to a ball, which Icosed this 
scene of general hilarity. General Bonaparte moved to Ve- 
rona ; he also seized on Lorettoand Ancona, cities of the pa- 
pal dominions, and at the same time, concluded an armistice 
with the king of Naples — which the general announced to 
the directory. 



CHAP. XIII. 



Battle of Castiglione — bridge of Lodi — panic of the 4000— 
siege of Mantua — campaign of the Rhine^ Meuse and Mo'^ 
selle — victories of Prince Charles— fall of Kehl — of Mantua. 

An action commenced. at Castiglione, which lasted live 
days successively ; the Austrians and Italians were com- 
manded by old field mareschal Wurmser, in which the French 
were victorious ; IQ field pieces, vvith all their caissons, 
6000 killed and wounded, and 15,000 prisoners, were the 
trophies of this victory. 

At the bridge of Lodi, the Austrians had planted a strong 
park of artillery, resolved to make a firm resistance, ai^d 
check the French. At sight of the enemy, general Bona- 
parte ordered the charge ; the order was obeyed ; the de- 
structive fire of grape shot caused the French to halt at the 
bridge, and shew some disorder ; general Bonaparte advanc- 
ed, seized a standard, and exclaimed, " follow your gene- 
ral :" the bridge and whole park of artillery were carried ; 
the Austrians were broken, and put to flight, and the victory 
was complete. An adroitness of general Bonaparte at the 
close of this action, will serve to shew the power of his mili- 
tary fame, and the general panic of the enemy. General 
Bonaparte repaired after the action to the village of Lonado, 
with 1200 of his guards, to recoanoiter the enemy ; a body 

29 



Odb CAMPAIGN OF ITALY. 

of 4000 Austrians which had been severed from the main a?= 
my, appeared at Lonado, and summoned the place ; general 
Bonaparte returned for answer- — "Go and tell your general 
that the commander of the army of Italy is here, with his 
brave troops ; and that if be with his division do not lay 
down their arms in eight minutes, he, with all the general 
officers, shall be responsible for the insult, and be sacrificed 
without mercy." The whole column of 4000 surrendered 
immediately. At this time, his holiness alarmed for the 
safety of the ecclesiastical states, published an edict prohib- 
iting all maledictions against Frenchmen. 

After the decisive action of Castiglione, general Wurmser 
fell back into Mantua, and secured his retreat in this strong 
fortress, which is the great key between Italy and the Tyrol : 
this movement prevented general Bonaparte from penetra- 
ting to Vienna. General Berthier, in the name of the com- 
mander in chief summoned the governor of Mantua to sur- 
render — and received for answer ; " July 17. — The laws of 
honor and duty, compel me to defend to the last extremity, 
the place entrusted to me. 1 have the honor, &c." 

The general successesof the armies, had excited through- 
out France general energies. The government and the na- 
tion had recovered a general tranquillity ; the general joy 
these had diffused, was expressed by a grand celebration at 
Paris of the memorable fall of Robespierre. With the fall 
©f Robespierre, fell the bloody sovereignty of jacobinism. 

At this time a division of the French army entered Leg- 
horn, and seized property to the amount of eight millions of 
livres. Aug. 14. — General Bonaparte gained three actions 
over the Austrians, at Corouna, Montebaldo, Proabolo, and 
pushed his victories to Koveredo. These victories destroy- 
ed, with a terrible carnage, the army sent to the relief of Man- 
tua. Again, on the IGth of September, he was successful at 
the action of Cavela. During the siege of Mantua, general 
Marmont, aid-de-carap to general Bonaparte, vt-as announced, 
and presented to the directory by the minister at war, who 
by an address pronounced this eulogy : " Posterity will 
scarcely credit the evidence of history, that in one campaign, 
all Italy was conquered ; that three armies were successive- 
ly destroyed ; that upwards of fifty stands of colors remained 
m the hands of the victors ; that 40,000 Austrians laid down 
their arms ; in fine, that 30,000 Frenchmen, under agenerd 
of twenty-rive years old, had accomplished all this." 



OAMPATGN OP ITALV. 339 

During these operations of the armies, England sent lord 
Malmsbury to Paris, to arrest the progress of the French 
arras by a peace ; the negociation failed, and he returned to 
London, October 26. 

During the memorable siege of Mantua, the emperor of 
Germany sent down two armies, to co-operate with the gar- 
rison for the relief of Mantua : these were destroyed in the 
battles last mentioned. A third army from Vienna now -ap- 
peared, composed of recruits and volunteers, all young men, 
the flower of Austria. 'I'o give spirit, dignity and energy to 
this enterprise, the empress presented one regiment of volun- 
teers with a standard, wrought wittt her own hands. General 
Wurmser commenced a sortie v^ith the garrison, to co-ope- 
rate with this army ; he was too soon, his sortie was repelled. 
General Bonaparte next turned his whole attention to the ad- 
vancing army ; they were destroyed withadr-^adful carnage. 
The iiing of Naples made terms with the conqueror of Italy, 
and signed a peace. Man: ,a was now closely invested. 

We will now turn our attention to the armies of the Rhine, 
Meuse and Moselle, under the command of generals Bloreaii 
and Jourdan, and opposed by the hero of Austria, prince 
Charles. On the 26th of June, general Moreau crossed the 
bridge at Strasburg with his army, took the strong fortress of 
Kehl, and advanced into Snabia, to meet prince Charles. At 
Renchen he gained a very considerable victory, and took 
1200 prisoners from the Austrians, June 28. On the 9th of 
July, general Moreau defeated prince Charles near Ettingen 
in a severe action : the Austrians retired, and the French pur- 
sued, and on the 18th advanced with rapid strides into the 
heart of Germany. This alarmed the duke of Wirtemburg. 
and brought him to such terms, as occasioned a suspension 
of arms between him and general Moreau. This successfu- 
general concluded at the same time an armistice with the mar- 
grave of Baden, continued to pursue prince Charles, cros- 
sed the river Neckar, and made peace with the circle of Sua- 
bia. General Jourdan penetrated into Gemany, upon the 
Meuse, at the same time, took the city of Frankfort, and levi- 
ed a contribution of six million of livres in cash, and two mil- 
lion in supplies, July 22. At the same time the strong fortress 
of Koenighoften surrendered to a division of Jourdan's army, 
commanded by general Lefebre, August 5, general Moreau 
met with a check from prince Lichtenstein, near Kirchein ; 
this he recovered by an attack upon Neresheim, the iVustn- 
ans were routed, and the French carried the place. 



vJ4© »EFEAT OF «EN. JOVR»AN. 

Alarmed at these rapid strides of France in Italy and (jfei?- 
man}', the emperor issued a proclamation to all his subjects^, 
to rally around the standard of their country, their constitu- 
tion, and the laws, and thus concluded : "Behold the still 
smoking ruins of Italy, the excesses and most inhuman cru- 
elties committed there ! Behold the devastation which the 
once flourishing territories of Germany have sufifered, inun- 
dated by the armies of the enemy, and you cannot remain 
(dubious about the terrible fate which threatens every coun- 
try, and every nation, on being invaded by such terrible ene- 
mies*" The armies continued their movements. Prince 
Charles made a sudden movement and attacked general Jour- 
dan — a terrible conflict ensued for fourteen hours ; the field 
was disputed with such obstinate valor that the conflict ceas- 
ed upon the field of action, through excessive fatigue ; the 
carnage was terrible, both parties withdrew. The next day 
general Moreau advanced and took possession of Nordlingen, 
and another severe action near Donawert compelled Prince 
Charles to retire and cross the Danube. General Jourdan 
advanced and took possession of Newark and Castel. The 
lustrians retired behind the river Nab. 

Alarmed again for the fate of Germany, the emperor issued 
another proclamation, calling on the kingdom of Bohemia to 
enroll a militia for the safety of that kingdom. A junction 
now took place between prince Charles and general VVerten- 
sleben — the prince availed himself of this united force, attack* 
ed Jourdan, and drove him from his position on the Nab, 
with the loss of 7000 men ; this juction, and this action open- 
ed an advantage to general Moreau, which he improved by a 
splendid victory near the Lech, which opened a passage for 
the French arms into the heart of Bavaria ; Munich and 
Augsburg, were the trophies of these victories, August 23d 
and 21 ih. The elector of Bavaria sued for peace. A treaty 
of alliance offensive and defensive, was signed August 29, 
between France and Spain. Prince Charles continued to 
press Jourdan, and he retired behind the Mayne, and from 
thence to Hamelberg, with the loss of 4000 men. The peace 
concluded this campaign in German3^ with the small states 
near the Rhine, laid the foundation of that league which af- 
terwards became the confederation of the Rhine. 

This masterly stroke of Prince Charles, in uniting with 
Wertensleben to overpower Jourdan, rendered the advance 
of Moreau into the heart of Bavaria easy ; but when a suc^ 



FALL OF MANTUA. ^341 

cession of victories over Jonrdan had weakened his force, 
and compelled him to retire, general Moreau was left exposed : 
he soon felt his critical situation, and attempted to extricate 
himself by a seasonable retreat ; in which he acquired more 
honor, than in his victorious advance. 

The Austrians pressed the French close and severe ; and 
even the peasantry took up arms to revenge their sufierings. 
In the midst of this pursuit in Suabia, Moreau made a boiU 
attack upon the advance guard of the Austrians, gained a de- 
cided advantage, killed, took and wounded 5,000 men, with 
twenty pieces of cannon. 

September 2 — Generals Jourdan and Moreau, continued 
to retire before the overpowering force of prince Charles, re- 
crossed the Rhine, and entered France, leaving a strong force 
in the fortress of Khel. 

This fortress was invested by prince Charles, with all the 
ardour of a conqueror the garrison made a desperate resis- 
tance : prince Charles, anxious to detach a part of this vic- 
torious army to the relief of Mantua, which continued to be 
close invested by general Bonaparte, and impatient of every 
moment's delay, brought his whole force to bear upon Kehl ; 
and after a resistance of forty days, under the most desperate 
encounters, the prince carried Kehl by a general assault ; and 
drew off part of his army to the relief of Mantua. The same 
day, Mantua fell a conquest to the conqueror of Italy, about 
the 1st of February, 1797. 



CHAP. XIV. 

Submission of the Pope — triumphs of the campaign — treaty of 
Campo Formio — armamew of Toulon — capture of Malta 
— battle of the Nile — conquest of Egypt — defeat at Acre — ■ 
general Bonaparte returns to Egypt — to France — new coa- 
lition. 

With the fall of Kehl and Mantua, the illustrious and splen- 
did campaign of 1796, closed generally. On the 17th of No- 
vember, died Catharine II. empress of Russia : and the great 
duke Paul, succeeded to the throne. After the fail of Man- 
tua, all further resistance on the part of Aui^tria ceased in Ita- 
ly ; and general Bonaparte advanced into the states of the 

29* 



342 SUCCESS OF THE WAR. 

pope under a fruitless resistance, and threatened Rome. Hig 
holiness addressed an affectionate letter to general Bonaparte, 
under the tender appellation of My dear son\ and by his en- 
voys sued for peace : to which the general replied, with the 
respectful appellation of Holy father, settled a peace, and re- 
tired into the Tyrol, to meet prince Charles ; a terrible ac- 
tion ensued — general Bonaparte was victorious, and prince 
Charles retreated with precipitation into the heart of Austria. 

The emperor took the alarm, and sued for peace ; a truce 
of six days was granted by general Bonaparte ; a conference 
was opened, the preliminaries drawn, and the peace ofrCam- 
po Formio, guaranteed to France all her conquests in Italy. 

At this time a general sketch of the succsses of the war, 
was published at Paris, stating, " that from the 8th of Febru- 
ary, 1793, to the 19th of Febuary, 1797 — France had gined 
261 victories, including 31 pitched battles ; killed 152,000 of 
the enemy ; taken 197,784 prisoners, 288 strong places, 319 
forts, camps, or redoubts, 7,965 pieces of cannon, 187,762 
guns, 4,318,160 pounds of powder, 207 standards, 5,486 
horses, &c. &c. This treaty stipulated with the emperor of 
Germany for the release of the marquis La Fayette from the 
prison of Olmuts ; and the marquis, with his wife and daugh- 
ter returned into France. Lord Malmsbury was sent, the 
30th of June, by the English court to negotiate a peace at Lisle, 
and returned the 1st of September without effecting his pur- 
pose. 

At this time, the republic of Genoa was united to France, 
under the name of the Ligurian republic. The young hero 
of Italy now returned in triumph to France, November 24, 
1797, after having accomplished in one campaign what Lewis 
the XI. Charles VTII. Lewis XII. Francis I. Charles IX. Hen- 
ry IV. Lewis XIV. and XV. kings of France, had each in his 
reign attempted to accomplish, at the expense of the best 
blood and treasures of France, but without success. This 
young hero was not only " older when he came back," but 
was illustrious in arms ; the trump of fame had proclaimed the 
siuccesses of this ever memorable campaign, to France, to Eu- 
rope, and to the world. Alarmed at the triumphant popular- 
ity of the conqueror of Italy, upon his return into France, 
the directory began to tremble in their seats, and to provide 
for their safety ; this they soon found in their fleet at Toulon. 

The di ectory assembled and equipped this fleet, with all 
possible expedition, consisting of 17 ships of the line, and 



BAfTLE OP AfiOtJKiR. 343 

15,000 men, destined for a secret expedition upon foreign 
service, and gave the command to general Bonaparte. On 
the 9th of April, 1798, general Bonaparte left Paris, and re- 
paired to Toulon to take the command of this armament ; 
and on the 19th set sail. This fleet was watched by an Eng- 
lish fleet of an equal force, under the command of Lord Nel- 
son, off the straits of Gibraltar, to intercept their passage to 
Ireland, should they attempt it, as was then contemplated. 

Upon the first tidings of the sailing of the Toulon fleet, his 
lordship pursued up the Mediterranean, and at Malta learnt 
the fate of that island, which the French had taken in their 
passage. He next sailed to the coast of Egypt, and recon- 
noitered the bay of Aboukir. Not finding the French fleet, 
he sailed to the coast of Syria. Not finding the French upon 
this coast, he returned to Egypt ; and to his great joy dis- 
covered the fleet in the bay of Aboukir, anchored close un- 
der the forts and batteries ofthe harbor, in the form of a cres- 
cent, at the distance of about one cable's length from each 
other, with the Le Orient, admiral Brueyes, in the centre. 

During his lordship's passage to, and return from JSyria, 
the French fleet had arrived, anchored in the bay, and land- 
ed the general with his army, &c. His lordship, on the af- 
ternoon ofthe 1st of August, upon his first arrival, gave an 
immediate signal, for an attack, in the following order : — The 
fleet to advance in two, divisions ; the first to pass within the 
French, between their fleet and the land ; the second division 
to pass without their fleet, the two van ships to engage the 
Le Orient in the centre of the French fleet, and the other 
ships to engage the ships of the French lying between them. 
The signal was obeyed without any other accident, than the 
grounding of the Culioden, in the first attempt to pass be- 
tween the French and the land : this ship served as a guide to 
the rest of the division, and had no share in the action. 

• In this position of the two fleets, the action commenced ; 
the conflict was terrible ; the French made a desperate re- 
sistance ; but before the half of their fleet which were not en- 
gaged, could slip their cables, and come into action, the Le 
Orient took fire, a-nd blew up, with an explosion which shook 
the deep to its centre, and filled the dark vault of heaven 
with its blaze. , The rest ofthe fleet engaged, were silenced 
and taken ; and the half which were not engaged, were all 
taken in the bay, except two — these were afterwards tiken 
at sea. Thus fell at one fatal blow the vast armament of 



344 DEFEAT AT ACRE, 

Toulon. Not so the general — he with his army were upon 
the heights of Alexandria, witnessing the destruction of his 
fleet, in the midst of a cannonade whose flashing thunders, 
like the bursting of Etna, filled with awe the solemnity of 
the night scene, and diffused terror and distress through the 
horrors of the gloom. 

General Bonaparte planted his eagles, without opposition, 
upon the walls of Alexandria ; from thence, by easy marches 
he penetrated to Cairo, which, m its turn, fell an easy con- 
quest. The resistance of the beys was feeble ; the conquer- 
or brought them into subjection by an artful policy, flattering 
some, encouraging others in their party quarrels, and subdu- 
ing the obstinate by force. By these means, he soon placed 
himself at their head, as a conqueror, and at Grand Cairo he 
settled the government, and gave law to Egypt. General 
Bonaparte left a small force to protect his new government, 
and marched his army into Syria, to plant his eagles at Jeru- 
salem, and give law to that country. 

His march was rapid and unmolested, until he appeared 
before the commanding city of St. Jean de Acre, (a seaport 
of Syria ;) it became absolutely necessary to conquer this 
place before he could accomplish his plan. He set down be- 
fore the city, opened his trenches, and began the attack ; up- 
on the first appearance of a breach, he ordered an assault — 
the attempt was made, but the desperate resistance of the be- 
sieged, added to a galling fire from the small squadron of Sir 
Sidney Smith, (which raked the French from the bay as they 
advanced to the charge,) obliged the columns to retire ; gen- 
eral Bonaparte ordered the charge to be renewed — the 
French advanced with great firmness and impetuosity , the 
conflict was terrible ; the trenches before the city were filled 
with heaps of slain ; the resistance was desperate ; the 
French retired 3 and night closed the awful conflict. The 
next day, the general ordered the assault to be renewed ; 
the issue became the same. Stung Avith chagrin at the re- 
pulse of his invincible legions, and fired with indignation at 
the obstinate resistance, he ordered the assault to be renew- 
ed : his army exhausted with the fitigues and distresses of 
the conflict, and shocked with the horrid stench of their com- 
rades, who lay in heaps in the trenches, (now become ptitrid 
by the heat of the climate,) and over whom they had to 
march to the assault ; one regiment dared to disobey the order. 

Struck with astonishment at the bold refusal, and fearing a 



GEN. BONAPARTE RETURNS. S4^ 

general revolt, the hero of Italy, and conqueror of Egypt, 
abandoned his enterprise ; beat a retreat ; led back his army 
,nto Egypt, and returned to Cairo. Here he gave a grand 
"ete in honor of the conquest of Syria, and inflicted a severe 
punishment upon the regiment which disobeyed at Acre, by 
causing them to march in review, with their arms reversed, 
md slung behind their backs. This severity of punishment, 
settled again the discipline of his army 

General Bonaparte settled the government of Egypt, pro* 
needed to Alexandria, where he ordered a frigate to be in 
-eadiness to attend him, wrote, and delivered a sealed letter 
o general Kleber, selected his favorite general lierthier, em- 
jarked on board the frigate, and set sail for France. 

When the time had expired for general Kleber to open his 
etter, he found to his astonishment, that the general had 
ibandoned his army, returned to France, and appointed him 
lis successor in the army of Egypt. General Kleber sherved 
the general officers his new commission, and assumed the 
X)mmand in general orders. 

General Bonaparte, after several hair-breadth escapes from 
he English cruizers, arrived in France ; landed near the 
ilace where he had embarked the preceding year, and re- 
3aired directly to Paris. Here he was hailed as the deliver- 
er of France. 

During his absence, < :: w scenes had been opened, new and 
listressing events has occurred. The orms of France had 
3een weakened, her resources had declmed, the confidence 
md energies of the nation had sunk, the government was en- 
'eebied, and the constiiati«.»n almost a cypher. France, in 
lis absence, fitted out the Brest fleet, with troops to assist 
he insurgents in Ireland ; they were taken and destroyed by 
he English on their passage, and the expedition fiiled. 

A new coalition was formed December iS, 1798, between 
England, Russia and Austria, toco-operate in the war against 
France. Old field mares( hal Suwarrow was appointed to 
he command of the Russian and Austrian army, df ^tin'^'^l to 
be conquest of Italy. This army was to be paid by Engiaud 
md Austria. 



CHAP. XV. 

hneral Suwarrow enters Italy — hattle of Switzerland — inva^ 



346 DEFEAT OF GEN. SUWARROW. 

sion of Holland — General Bonaparte first consul — battle oj 
Marengo — infernal machme — northern armed neutrality — 
peace of LuneviUe — war between Spain and Portugal — bat- 
tle of Copenhagen. 

General Suwarrow entered Italy by the way of the Ty- 
rol. The city of Mantua fell an easy conquest ; toj2;ethei 
with the other cities of Italy, taken by general Bonaparte 
and the French generals McDonaM, Angereau and others, re- 
tired before the conqueror. At this tune the war raged gen- 
erally ; general Joardan crossed the Rhine and tookManheim 
March 2, 1799. Genera! Bonaparte was then in Syria. Gen^ 
eral Massena was stationed in Svvitzerland, where he waj 
watched by prince Charles upon the Rhine, and another Aus- 
trian army which lay towards Vienna. Suwarrow in hi< 
march, took possession of ail tho cities and strong hold* it 
Italy, in the name of the emperor of Russin : this excited jeal- 
ousy and distrt^inthe coalition. England checked her sup- 
plies, Austria grew cold ; prince Charles neglected the ne 
cessary arrangements, to form a necessary co-operation. 

As Suwarrow approached Switzerland, to attack Massena 
the French general anticipated his movements, commencec 
a desperate attack upon the Austrian army which watchec 
him on the side of Vienna, routed and destroyed it, before 
Suwarrow could pass the mountains and afford assistance 
He than by a sudden movement fell upon Suwarrow vith hij 
victorious troops ; the conflict was short, but terrible ; Su 
warrow was beaten, obliged to take advantage of the moun- 
tains, fde off into Germany, and secure his retreat. Here h( 
proposed to form a junction with prince Charles, who refuS' 
sed. 

This old hero of the north, this champion over the Turks 
this conqueror of Warsaw and of Italy, was recalled by his 
master, banished the court, and died in disgrace. Massenf 
held his strong position in Switzerland. The Austrian armj 
in Italy advanced and laid siege to Genoa ; the English ir 
co-operation with Russia made a descent upon Holland, aac 
took and carried off the Dutch fleet, September 1 ; at the 
same time they landed a strong force under the commanc 
of the duke of York, and attempted the conquest of Hol- 
land. This opened a new scene — the Dutch and French 
united their forces, and, by a succession of victories, the 
duke of York, with his English and Russian army, were com- 
pelled to sign a convention, and resign up the Dutch fleet 



BATTLE OP MARENGO. 347 

«?hich they had carried off a few months before) as a pledge 
)r the safe embarkation of their array This convention was 
le second vohime of the old convention of closter seven in 
[anovcr, in the old seven years war. 
In the midst of these events, general Bonaparte arrived at 
aris, by the eiforts of his friends put himself at the head of 
small military force, appeared at the hall of the national 
buncil, entered with his sword drawn, and at the point of the 
^yonet dissolved their sitting and power, locked up the hall, 
)ok the key, and retired. Sieyes and others of the directo- 
y were in the secret — they immediately framed a new con- 
.itution, after the form of the old Roman consular govern- 
ient, with three consuls, a senate, Sic. and general Bona- 
•arte was elected first consul for ten years, December 13, 
^199. During the operations in Holland, the English seized 
ti the city of Rome, and the Roman States in Italy. The 
•t)nsul addressed a letter to the king of England on the sub- 
let of peace, and at the same time assembled an army of re- 
jrve at Dijon ; organized the government, put himself at the 
^fead of the army of Dijon, crossed the Alps, and appeared 
fi the plains of Italy before the Austrian general (who was 
j^ressing the siege of Genoa) had knowledge of his move- 
Aents. ^ Placed between two fires, he raised the siege and 
j'itired to meet the consul, who awaited him on the plains of 
parengo : here the conflict which was to decide the fate of 
'aly commenced, in the morning; the Austrians advanced 
1 to the plain, the consul retired and took bis position in a 
rong defile in a pass of the mountains : the conflict was 
2sperate, the consul resisted the impetuosity of the Austrian 
tacks, until a column of fresh troops, (posted by design fif- 
en miles distant) were conveyed in waggons to the scene of 
^ition ; this column, with their brave general Dessaix at their 
l*5ad, entered the pass, and rushed like a torrent upon the 
(ain, overwhelming all opposition ; the conflict was short, 
he carnage terrible, and the gallant Dessaix crowned with 
U death the victory of Marengo. This action was of itself 
campaign ; the army of Austria was destroyed, her power 
^ Italy subdued, and all Italy recovered to France. The 
•)nsul, by a rapid movement, entered Milan without opposi- 
bn and enjoyed the triumph. June 4th, — He dispersed the 
'imnant of the Austrians at Montebello, and settled an armis- 
!:e for Italy, June 10th, and established the Cisalpine 
epublic The movements on the Rhine had been stayed. 
iring these impertaat movements of the consul. 



34S CONVENTION OF Lt/NEVILLE. 

On the 18th of July, Gen. Moreau gained an important vie* 
tor^ over the Austrians at Blenhein, and again at Newburgon 
the 28th ; these successes were followed by prehminaries of 
peace, which were signed at Paris, July 28, 1800. Paul em- 
peror of Russia, made the first motion for a convention, for 
an armed neutrality which was acceded to by all the north- 
ern powers. Dec. 24. At tliis time an attempt was made 
tipon the life of the 1st Consul by the infernal machine (so 
called) as he rode to the theatre ; this machine was about 
the size of a barrel, filled with gunpowder, spikes, bullets, 
«&c. with a machine-'y to strike fire for an explosion, like 
the torpedo, which could be regulated for any particular 
time. This machine was placed in the way of the Consul 
where his carriage would pass that evening to the opera, and 
the explosion took effect, directly after the Consul had pass- 
ed ; the shock and alarm were great, some of the materials 
were thrown over the tops of the houses, but no essential 
damage was done The Consul passed on to the opera, with- 
out regarding the event, staid the usual time, and retired. 
Notwithstanding the preliminaries of peace were signed be- 
tween France and Austria, the French pushed their advabces 
in Italy, and Germany ; they seized on Tuscany, and met 
with a check in Italy which oocasioned the armistice of Tre- 
viso. They penetrated on the Danube near to Vienna, 
which caused the convention of Luneville between Austria 
and France, Jan. 28, 1801. The definitive treaty was sign- 
ed Feb. 23. 

On the 1st of January, 1801, the English assembled a fleet 
at St. Marmorice, for the purpose of conquering Egypt — the 
command of this armament was given to Lord Keith, and he 
set sail on the 27th of February ; all Egypt was subdued in 
One campaign ; the French army taken by capitulation, and 
sent back to France, and Egypt was restored to the Turks, 
B'lay 1803. At this time Spain proclaimed war against Por- 
tugal, which was settled in one month by the treaty of Bada« 
jos. A new convention was now effected between England 
and Russia, and the preliminaries of a general peace were 
signed at London, Oct I, 1801. The storm of war was now 
hushed throughout the world, for the first time since the year 
1793. The northern confederacy in 1800, which supported 
their armed neutrality, gave a general alarm in England ; they 
remembered the depredations which formerly ravaged their 
islaRd,. from the mouth of the Baltic^ and they were jealou-s 



BATTLE OF flOrENHAGEN. 349 

.of this confederacy, and resolved to suppress it. The Eng- 
ilish laid an embargo upon all the ships and vessels of Uussia, 
1 Denmark and Sweden ; and dispatchetl a fleet, under the com- 
mand of lord Nelson, to attack the Danish fleet in tfie har- 
:bor of Copenhagen, Aug. 1801. The Danes coUecteil their 
.whole fleet, to the number of twenty-eight sail of the line, in 
! the h?«rbor of Copenhagen, under the cover of their for<s and 
(batteries ; they also constructed a number of flouting batteries 
J for the occasion, and put heir harbor in the best possible 
state of detence. Lord Nelson entered the Baltic sound, 
• and with great labor, warped his fleet through the passage, 
■where a fleet had never passed before, and by this means, 
I entered the harbour of Copenhagen with a fair wind. The 
I Danes were prepared, and the action commenced : here the 
.thunders of Aboukir were renewed ; the attack was tferce and 
(terrible — the resistance firm, desperate and bloody. The 
i carnage on board the batteries was so great, that they were 
. repeatedly manned from the shores, with fresh troops. The 
cannonade from the fleets the batteries, the forts and the 
shores, was awfully sublime ; their thunders shook the land, 
[ the ocean and the heavens : the fleets swam in blood : the 
1 Danes were subdued ; and awful was the scene of silence, so- 
. lemnity and gloom that ensued. His lordship landed in per- 
^son, attended the king, settled a peace, and conducted the 
I shattered remains of the Danish fleet in triumph to En.M .nd. 
This peace severed the northern confederacy, and brought 
Russia into an alliance against France. 



CHAP. XVI. 



Revolution in St. Bomingo—character of the Black Chiefs — 
conquest of Hanover— fr si Consid chosen for life — made em- 
peror of France — Austrian nmr—fall of Vienna — bartfe of 
I Aiisterlitz — peace with Austria — nuar beticeen England and 
I Spain. 

A general joy was diffused throughout Europe and America. 
j This however was of short continuance — the rage of Hberty 
^ and equality in France, early in the revolution, had abolished 
1 slavery in all the French West-India Islands; a violent revolu- 
) tion of liberty aad equality commenced immediately at St. Do- 

.30 



350 WAR OP ST. DOMrr?GO. 

mingo, which raged with all the hor j of rnpine, murders, 
massacres and confiscation ; the beautitul town of Cape Fran- 
cois was in ruins, and the bl icks in ar ov • the white* and peo- 
ple of colour were the victims of theii ; a.^e. The consul em- 
braced this calm to check thi« violence in the colonies — he 
had lost the confidence of the army of Egypt, by deserting 
them, and he could place no confid*^nce in la army who ia, 
his absence had murdered their general, (Kleber ;) he appoint- 
ed Gen. Le Clerc to the command, and sent out this army of 
Egypt to subdue the rebel blacks in St. Domingo. The blacks 
made a desperate resistance^ — the horrors of St. Domingo ex- 
ceeded the horrors of Egypt and Syria, and the swords of the 
blacks, together with the fatal West- India climate, ruined and 
destroyed the whole of this army ; the blacks maintained 
4beir liberty, and established the kingdom of Hayti, 1802. Iq 
the Island of St. Domingo, African slavery first commenced, 
and here they first obtained their liberty, and established an 
independent government. 

During this revolution in St. Domingo, appeared, Tousant, 
Christophe, and other Chiefs, who possessed strong minds, 
great dignity, firmness, and strength of character, with a gen- 
eral knowledge of men and things, joined to a correct knowl- 
edge of the military art. They made a figure at the head of 
their armies, which coLimanded obedience and respect ; their 
troops were regularly formed and disciplined, their cause was 
the cause of liberty, and they defended it with deperate val- 
our, and rose superior to French tactics, discipUne and in- 
trigue. When they had organized and established their 
government, there appeared at the head of it, and of the sev- 
eral departments, a description of characters, fully competent 
to the duties of their stations, and the government was, and 
continues to be, administered, with energy, wisdom, firmness 
and dignity ; commerce and the plantations flourish, and the 
government, and the laws are respected in the kingdom of 
Hayti. 

The peace of Europe remained undisturbed until June 7, 
1813. At this time, England, alarmed at the growing power 
of the French, declared war. The consul had been consti- 
tuted consul for ten years more, after the first term of tea 
years should expire, and afterwards had been elected consul 
for life, by a subscriptive vote of more than three million of 
citizens ; and his military preparations had excited a genera! 
alarm in Esrope. particalarly in England, oo account of the 



CAPTURE OP HANOVER. 351 

hostile movements upon the French coast. The English had 
evacuated Egypt, the 16th of May, and called home their 
fleet and troops, for the defence of their island. The con* 
sul announced to the nation, that England had declared war ; 
and fnade great preparations upon the coast, for the invasion 
©f England ; sent a strong military force into the west of Ger- 
many, and seized on Hanover, the hereditary dominions of 
George III. king of England. Jiuje, 1803. The spirit of the 
French nation was high, at this time : the invasion ofEngland, 
with delenda est [Carthago^ Carthage must be detroyed,) be- 
came the order of the day ; boats, gallies and small craft, 
were built and collected from all the ports of France and 
Holland, and assembled at Boulogne ; soldiers were trained 
d/.ily in the order of embarking and disembarking ; agener^ 
al alarm prevailed in England, and the consul reigned in the 
hearts of the French people. The licentiousness of liberty 
had been checked in some degree by a decree of the direct- 
cry, prohibiting the circulation of foreign newspapers in 
France, in 1797. This check had been improved by the first 
consul, in suppressing the licentiousness of the press, and con* 
fining the publications to licensed papers only. This led t€ 
an anecdote, which may serve to mark the difterence of char 
acters, and difference of the times, in France. When tlir 
marquis La Fayette (who had been released by Gen. Bona- 
parte, at the peace of Campo Formio, from the dungeon oi 
Olmutz,) was called upon to give his subscriptive vote to the 
first consul, as consul for life, he addressed this note to the 
consul : — " The marquis La Fayette presents his compliments 
to Gen. Bonaparte, and will most cheerfully give him his vote 
as first consul for life, provided he will restore freedom of 
speech, and freedom of the press to the French people." The 
consul returned this reply : — " Gen. Bonaparte returns his 
compliments to the marquis La Fayette, and assures him, 
that»should he comply with his wishes, neither the marquis 
La Favette, nor general Bonaparte, would be in France in 
six months." This difference of character caused the differ- 
ence in the affairs of France, and gave her at this time, the 
power of distressing her ancient rival. 

The consul signified to the marquis La Fayette, that he 
mi?:ht retire upon one of hif estate*, remote from Paris : the 
murquis withdrew. Jeilou«;y, distrust and apprehension pre- 
vailed throughout Erip,'and parties ran hiyh in the cabinet ; 
the government and the nation were alive tp their common 



352 ' EMPEROR NAPOLEOfT. 

safety ; and the military kept the peace*: Austria alarmed 
for the safety of Europe, joined a new confederacy a^j-ainst 
France, to give a check to the movements against England. 
She assembled a powerful force in Suabia, upon the Danube, 
under general Mac, who took up his head-quarters at the 
strong and commanding position of Ulm. 

The English were successful in the East and West Indies^ 
and took the island of Dem<^ara. The consul caused gene- 
rals Pichegru and Moreau to be arrested in Paris : Pichegru 
died in his prison, and Moreau was banished, and fled to A= 
merica, where he remained until 1813. 

Thi^ year the emperor of Russia, Alexander, (who had suc- 
ceeded to the throne upon the death of his father Paul) made 
great movements to co-operate with England and Austria 
against France. A new revolution took place in the French 
government, and an imperial government was established 
May 6 ; the consul was vested with the imperial dignity, and 
crowned by the pope at Paris, at the almost unanimous voice 
of the nation August 11, 1804. The emperor continued 
his operations upon the coast, and the invasion of Eng- 
land bexame every day more popular in France, and more 
alarming in Enghmd, which increased the preparations for 
defence and security. Daring these operations, the empe- 
ror put himself at the head of the army of England (so cal- 
led, ) and by a sudden projected movement passed the bridge 
of Strasburg, and appeared in Suabia, before Ulm, October, 
1805. The same rapid movements which brought him be- 
fore this city, obliged general Mac to abandon it, almost 
without resistance, and led the French soldiers to say — 
*' Our emperor makes us use our legs, if we do not use our 
muskets." General Mac retired down the Danube ; the em- 
peror pursued by forced marches, penetrated to Vienna, took 
it November 14, left a garrison, and filed off with his army in- 
to Moravia to meet the emperor Alexander, with his Russian 
army. The two young emperors lay in sight of each other 
several days ; when the emperor Napoleon made a sudde'n re- 
trograde movement : this deceived the emperor Alexander, 
who suspected his enemy was about to make his escape. 

The emperor Napoleon retired several miles, and made a 
halt upon an eminence at Austerlitz, to observe the motions of 
his enemy. The emperor Alexander put his army in motion to 
pursue ; and in order to intercept his retreat, he detached a di- 
vision of his army, with orders to gain the rear of the emperor 



BATTLE OF AUSTERLITE. 35S 

Kapoleon : ^such a movement on the part of the king of Prus- 
sia, towards old mareschalDaun in Silesia, proved fatal to the 
enterpi ize. Napolean saw the result — he had caught Alex- 
ander m the trap he had set for him, and exclaimed, "They 
will all be given into my hands before night." He ordered 
a charge to be made upon the detached division : the onset 
was violent ; they were overthrown with great slaughter ; put 
to the sword, or driven at the point of the bayonet into a 
neighbouring lake, where they almost all perished. A general 
charge was then made on the main body of the Russian ar- 
my ; the conflict was short, the carnage was great, and the 
victary decisive, Dec. 2, 1805. The emperors drew off their 
armies, settled a peace, and the emperor Alexander returned 
with his shattered army into Russia. The emperor Napole- 
on returned to Vienna, settled a peace wiih the emperor, 
which stripped him of the title of emperor of Germany, 
and of his dominions in the Tyrol, (these were added 
to Italy) and left him only the title of emperor of Austria. 
This blow severed the union of the Germanic body, and 
left them without a head. The emperor Napoleon then 
led back his victorious army in triumph into, France, agaia 
posted them on the seaboard, and retired to his palace. 

The invasion of England was again renewed ; the success- 
^es of the last year, had kindled anew the zeal and ardor of 
the nation, and the disasters of the allies, had as greatly de» 
pressed the English nation ; all was anxiety and alarm. 

Thus Napoleon, under the the imperial crown, in one 
campaign, triumphed over the grand coalition,- in the capital 
of Austria ; triumphed over the empeior of Ru<?sia in the 
famous battle and peace of Austerlitz ; triumphed ovor tne 
Germanic body, by deposing their head ; and over the house 
of Austria, by annexing the country of the Tyrol, to the 
conquests of France in Italy ; and made his enemies support 
the war. The easy access to Ulm, was the first fruits of 
theconfedeiation of the Rhine, which commenced as early as 
August 1796. , The object of this confederation was to with- 
draw the small states near the Rhine from the contest between 
the great rival powers, and prevent their becoming the per» 
petual theatre of war. 

The emperoF N-ripoleon, by his powerful forces upon the 
coast, overawed the repul)Iic of Holland ; changed their con- 
stituion ; placed at their head a tool of his own, under the ti-. 
tie of grand pensionary j and thus assumed the dominioH eC 



354 BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 

Holland, 1805. England at this time issued lettess of marque 
and reprisal against Spain, to prosecute the war which had 
been declared the Hth of December, 1804. 



CHAP. XVII. 

Emperor Napoleon on the throne of Charlemagne — "battle of 
Trafalgar — confederation of the Rhine — Prussian war — 
battle of Jena ; of Eylau ; of Friedland — peace of Tilsit — 
Berlin decree — treaty of Fontainbleau — Bayonne Decree — • 
fall of Charles IF. and Ferdinand VIJ. — capture of Madrid* 

On the 1st of May, 1805, the emperor Napoleon was 
crowned king of Italy. Again the Franks were gratified to 
see a successor of Charlemagne upon the throne of France, 
and the iron crown of the Romans placed upon the head of 
an emperor of the west. The spirit of the nation was high, 
but the conscripts began to be sent to the armies, chained in 
pairs, and the conscriptions galled ; internal gloom and mur- 
mur began to dampen the spirit of patriotism, and the voice 
«f applause. The senate of Genoa decreed the union of 
the Ligurian Republic with France. The English made a 
daring attempt to burn the flotilla in the harbor of Boulogne 
with carcases ; but failed, August 31, and the general prepa- 
rations for invasion went forward. 

During these great preparations for the invasion of Eng- 
land, the combined ileets of France and Spain, lay secure 
in the harbor of Cadiz ; but the blockade of the English 
under Lord Nelson was to close, as to cut off all supplies by 
water ; the supplies from the country failed, and they were 
objiged to change their position. To this effect, they put to 
sea in order to gain the port of Toulon. Lord Nelson pur- 
sued, and the fleets were soon in sight of each other off the 
cape of Trafalgar. The combined fleet, to the number of 
twenty or thirty sail, moved in form of a crescent, under an 
easy sail, before the wind. When Lord Nelson came up, he 
ordered his fleet to bear down upon the enemy in two diiis- 
ions, break through the line, and commence the attack. The 
signal was obeyed, and fte action commenced. 

The thunders of the Nile, and of Copenhagen were renew- 
ed ; the conflict became general ; the battle was desperate, 
^d the carnage terrible. The English were victorious ; the 



NEW COALITION, 35» 

allies lost the greatest part of their fleet, taken, sunk, or de- 
stroyed, and the remnant made their escape to Toulon. 

Thus failed the threat of the emperor Napoleon. " I will 
eat my Christmas dinner in London." Nelson the great ; 
the hero of Aboukir ; of Copenhagen ; of Trafalgar, kc. ; 
the champion of the ocean ; the pride, the boast, and the or- 
nament of his country, and his country's arms, crowned with 
his death the victory of Trafalgar. Oct. 21, 1805. 

The emperor Napoleon had ventured to say, that he 
should keep his Christmas in London ; this was fixing a day ; 
this rendered certain, what had before been only conjecture, 
that he was in earnest, and that he intended to lead the en- 
terprise in person ; the whole political horizon was at this 
time dark and gloomy. In America, there was a total eclipse 
of the sun at mid-day (a sublime display of the majesty of 
the heavenly bodies,) June 16, 1806. 

A resolution originated in the House of Lords, and passed 
the national council, for the abolition of slavery. A treaty 
was signed at Paris between France and the States of Bava- 
ria, Wirtemburg, Baden, and several smaller German states, 
such as Lower Saxony and Hesse Cassel, by which these 
states renounced their connexion with the German empire, 
and under the name of the confederation of the Rhine, 
placed themselves under the protection of France. This 
closed the compact of the confederation of the Rhine, which 
had been so long in agitation. This confederation opened 
to France a free access into the heart of Germany, r-nd 
brought the two great powers of Austria and Prussia, upon 
their frontier ; destroyed at one blow all that chain of barrier 
towns which had called forth the genius of a Vauban in the 
reign of Lewis XIV. and been the object of all succeeding 
treaties, for the safety both of France and Germany. 

This treaty opened to France an easy passage to the cap- 
itals of all the States of Germany ; and the rival spirit be- 
tween Prussia and Austria, which Lewis XIV. had sown, and 
Lewis XV. had cherished, now gave the emperor Napoleon 
an opportunity to improve it. England and Russia, alarmed 
at the gigantic strides of France, formed anew coalition with 
Prussia, to protect the king against the encroachments of the 
emperor of France , and to strengthen the defence of Eng- 
land. The emperor Napoleon was now prepared for the 
campaign, to defeat this coalition. He had reapt the first 



356 BATTLES OF JENA AND EYLAIJ. 

fruits of the conquest over the divided rival states of Austria 
and Prussia, by humbling the house of Austria, whilst the 
king of Prussia remained an inactive spectator ; he was now 
prepared to strip the ancient laurels from the brows of the 
other rival, and shew to the king of Prussia the truth of this 
sacred maxi;n, *' that a house divided against itself must fall." 

The emperor Napoleon knew, and the king of Prussia, 
ought to have known that a union of Prussia with Austria, 
would have prevented the defeat of general Mac at Ulm ; if 
not, it would have prevented the fall of V^ienna, and given the 
emperor of Rus^sia time to unite his forces ; this would have 
produced the same effects, as resulted from the same union 
at Leipsic, 1813. This was now too late, the die was cast, 
Austria was humbled, and Prussia stood alone. France held 
Hanover by conquest in 1803. The emperor NapJeon had 
concluded a treaty at Paris with the Russian Minister. This 
treaty the emperor Alexander refused to ratify ; he prepared 
to co-operate against France, and pul^lished his manifesto. 

The French pressed upon the borders of Prussia, and oc- 
casioned a coliisi'^n, and rencounter. Prince Lewis of Prus- 
sia was killed, and war commenced ; both parties were pre- 
pared for action, both sovereigns took the fi?ld ; and the em» 
peror of Russia put his army in motion to co-operate. 

The emperor Napoleon advanced into Germany at the 
head of the victorious army of the Danube ; the two armies 
met at Jena, (a strong town in Lower Saxony,) the conflict 
w?s terrible, the victory decisive ;• the Prussians fled — the 
French pursued into the heart of Prussia, the king reinforced 
as he retired until winter checked the operations of the cam- 
paign, and the emperor took up his winter quarters in Prus- 
sia, and watched the king. The Prussians hoped to take ad- 
vantage of their climate, and engage the French, by surprise, 
in their quarters. Accordingly, the king at dead of night, in 
the severity of winter, attacked the emperor Napoleon by sur- 
prise in his camp at Eylau. A terrible conflict and carnage, 
ensued, the veterans of the Danube, of Austerlitz, and of Je- 
na, were firm and unshaken, the attack was well c«ncerted, 
Avell executed, and as well resisted ; both parties claimed the 
victory, and took up their quarters. 

With the opening of tke spring, the emperor Napoleon 
commenced his operations. Dantzic and Conig^burgh, were 
the trophies of his victories. The Prussians retired behind 
tlie Pregel, where they met the Russians j Napoleon advanc- 



BERLIN DECREE. 35!7 

ttd ; tlie two armies met at Friedland. Here the fate of Prus- 
sia was sealed, by an action as great, as important, and as 
decisive as either of the two armies had experienced ; the 
victory was complete. The allies sued for peace, and the 
emperor Napoleon dictated the peace of Tilsit, which guar- 
anteed the friendship of Alexander, and secured his safe re- 
turn into Russia. It opened all Prussia to the arms of Na- 
poleon, stripped the king of all but the name of king, with a 
scanty pittance to support it, and guaranteed the peace of 
Germany, June 26, 1807. This treaty secured to the empe- 
ror Napoleon, the whole sea-coast from Riga, on the confines 
of Russia, to Bayonne, on the confines of Spain. 

NapoleOti repaired to Berlin, and passed his Berlin decree, 
interdicting all commerce with Enghind ; and had high ex- 
pectations, that this decree would banish all English com- 
merce from the continent. This was one of those decrees 
which called forth the noted orders in council in England, 
which together, distressed neutral commerce, excited gene- 
ral complaint in America, and caused the war with England 
in 1812. A general blockade by the British ships of war and 
armed vessels took place on the coas^t of Europe, and in the 
Baltic ; also a proclamation calling in all their seamen abroad, 
in whatever service. This brought on collisions between - 
British armed vessels and neutrals, and involved the question 
of the right of search. The president of the United States 
issued his proclamation, forbidding all intercourse with Brit- 
ish ships of war ; this expelled the English naval force from 
the American ports. These ordeis of council led the em- 
peror of Russia to declare war against England, July 2"/, 
1807. The expedition into Prussia, being thus closed, the 
liberties of Germany sealed by the treaty of Tilsit, and Rus- 
sia engaged in a war with England ; all further coalition in 
a war with France was closed. Napoleon was now at liber- 
ty to turn his attention to the peninsula. He led back his 
troops in triumph again into France, stationed them upon the 
seaboard, and repaired again to his palace. 

Parties ran high this year in America ; the English, as well 
as the French, had envied her prosperous commerce ; and 
having realized that America was enriched by the quarrels 
of Europe, they had both struck her a severe blow, by their 
decrees, and orders in council. This blow brought America 
into the continental system, in December, 1807. A national 
embargo commenced, which lasted sev ;e, D years, and finally 



3^58 INTRIGUES WITH SPAIN. 

resulted in a war with England, and terminated at the peace 
of 1815. 

A new field of operations opened to employ the energies 
of Napoleon, he now aspired to the universal sovereignty of 
Europe, if not of the world, and found it necessary to hold 
the dominion of Spain, in order to accomplish his plans. 

He remembered, that Portugal originally was a part of 
Spain, and that on the sequestration of AlphonZ(. Henriquez, 
1 139, it had been united into a kingdom ; that Sp^nn had again 
recovered it in 1580 ; and again it was sequestered by the 
duke of Braganza, 1640 ; he knew that it would be an object 
with Spain again to recover Portugal, and accordingly nego- 
oiated a treaty at Fontainbleaii, to co-operate vyith Spain in 
the conquest, and partition of Portugal : with some assurmces 
to aid in the recovery of Gibraltar. Charles IV. was upon 
the throne of Spain, a very old man, and his son, Ferdinand 
Vll. ready in waiting to succeed him. NapoL^on moved a 
large army to Boyonne, (near the confines of pain) passed 
his Bayonne decree, to strengthen his Berlin ^'exree against 
English commerce. He next prepared to executa his plan ; 
commenced an intrigue with Charles IV, and induced him to 
resign his crown to his son Ferdinand ; he next intrigued with 
Ferdinand, and drew him into his camp at Bayonne, where 
he detained him a prisoner ; he then sent general Murat, 
grand duke of Berg, at the head of a strong military force 
into Spain, to take possession of Madrid. 



CHAP. XVill. 



Spanish Junta declare war ; Joseph Bonaparte king of Spain 
— -fall of Dupont — conquest of Rome — kingdom of Holland 
• — conference of Erfurth — baffle of Corunna — Austrian war 
— battle of Ratisbon — fall of Vienna — battle of Lobeau — of 
Wngram — peace with Jiuslria — invasion of Holland, by the 
English. 

CT?4FtLKs 'Y. revoVfd bis resiofnat'on, unpointed general 
Murat, iieuter:,t.:t A.ii;-? d of Spain, and rt^piired to Biiyonne 
whiTe h" and ?iih ^o,-, botb made a formal «"irrendry of the' 
crown of Spain, to N;u>«>]oon : rvh » conf •''^ed it upon bis 
brotner Joseph Bonaparte, anv* Uetained Charles iV. and 



INVASION OF PORTUGAI.. 35^ 

Ferdinand VII. as prisoners in France. Stung with chagrin 
and indignation, at this outrage upon the sovereignty ofSpain^ 
the Spaniards hutchered about 5,000 of the French, under 
Murat, at Madrid, and the French about as many Spaniards 
in their turn. The Junta of Spain, caught the alarm, assem- 
bled an army, declared war against France, retired into the 
south as far as Seville, and were supported by the English at 
Cadiz. The emperor Napoleon having thus secured the 
crown of Spain, prepared to support the title of his brother. 
He framed a new constitution for Spain, at Bayonne, passed 
the Pyrenees, and entered Spain, at the head of the victorious 
army of Germany ; marched to Madrid, placed his brother 
Joseph on the throne, caused him to be crowned, and sent 
one army to co-operate with the Spanish army in the con- 
quest of Portugal, and another to the south, to iuTest the 
Junta in Seville. Both plans succeeded ; the French and 
Spaniards entered Portugal, and penetrated to Lisbon. The 
royal family retired to Brazil, in South America. General 
Soult pushed the conquest of the south of Spain, and invest- 
ed Cadiz. The English sent a fleet to protect Cadiz. The 
English sent a strong force to Lisbon, drove out the French, 
and prepared to co-operate with the Portuguese, in recover- 
ing their country : they trained the Portuguese soldiers to 
arms and discipline, and taught them how to beat the French. 

At this time, general Dupont, with an army of 14,000 men, 
surrendered to the Spanish patriots, July 31, 1808. This 
bloiv shook the throne of king Joseph ; he considered all as 
lost ; and suffered the churches in Madrid to be rifled, to- 
gether with other excesses and irregularities — collected his 
troops, and evacuated Madrid, August 21, 1808. The 
French, at the same time, entered Rome, in Italy, decreed 
the papal throne vacant, and deprived the Pope of his eccle- 
siastical states, to compel him to enforce the continental sys- 
tem. The emperor Napoleon subverted the republic of Hol-^ 
land, erected it into a kingdom, and placed his brother Louis 
upon the throne. 

At this time, sir Arthur Wellesley began to act in Portu* 
gal, and gained the action at Vimeria, which proved fatal to 
the French arms in Portugal, and compelled them to sue for 
an armistice, which was granted ; they evacuated Portugal 
by a convention, October 1, 1808. In this state of things, the 
emperor Napoleon proposed an interview with the eoaperor 
Alexander, at Erfurth, (a strong town 'm Thuringig, in Lower 



360 AUSTRIAN WAR. 

Saxony, in Germany,) then under the dominion of the 
French. This interview took place October 12, lasted sev- 
eral days, attended with much etiquette ; and closed, with 
mutual assurances* of friendship and good humor. 

The result of this conference was, a mutual overture to 
England, for peace : this was rejected ; and the English sent 
a >trong armament to the north of Spain, tinder generals 
Moor(- and Baird, and assembled their force at Salamanca. 
Alarmed at this movement, the emperor repaired to Madrid 
with a strong force, restored king Joseph to the throne, and 
took the field in person. At the approach of the emperor, 
the British army retired towards the coast ; the French pres- 
sed close upon their rear ; some sharp encounters ensued, 
b'jf nothing deci!^ive, until they reached Coriinna, the"port of 
e;r!barkatioa Here, sir John Moore was compelled to sus- 
tain a general action, to cover the embarkation : the French 
wore victorious ; the English sufifered very severely, and sir 
J. Moore ft! I in the action. Thus Spain, on the north, was 
cleared at a blow. Napoleon returned to Paris, and left king 
Joseph in quiet possession of his crown. 

Great Britain, alarmed at the conference atErfurth, enter- 
ed into a negociation, and settled a peace with the Turks, in 
erd.?r to find employment for the Emperor Alexander. 

Napoleon addressed a letter to the Emperor Alexander, in 
which he styled him Emperor of thm East^ and received, in 
replv, the title of Emperor of the West — and hostilities com- 
menced immediately, between Russia and the Turks. 

At this time, Mr. Madison succeeded Mr. Jefferson, in the 
presidency in America ; Mr. Erskine concluded with the 
American government a treaty of accommodation to regulate 
the conmif rcial dift'erences between England and America, 
and commerce was restored by the president's proclamation. 
This negotiation was disavowed by the British government, 
^ind things remained as they were. 

The rupture contemplated between France and Austria 
now became inevitable — Austria had renewed her strength 
during the conflicts in Spain, assembled another army at Ulm, 
and prince Charles was now invested with the j^upreme com- 
mand, he published his manifesto and took the field, March 14. 

Fired with indignation at this new coalition, the Emperor 
Napoleon, (now on the coast superintending the preparations 
for invasion,) repaired to Paris, »n:jde a demand on the bank 
f^r aHimmeiise sum, guaranteed the safety of the bank against 



BATTLE OJP LeBEAV. • 361 

ail runs that should affect its credit, and protected it by a 
military force; returned to his army, put himself at their 
head, crossed the bridge at Strasburg, and appeared in Suabia. 
The victories of Puffenhoffen, Tarn, Abensburg, Landgh<jt, 
and Eokmul, on the 20lh, 21si, 22d and 23d of April, announ- 
ced the approach of the conqueror. He advanced without 
further opposition, and met prince Charles at Ratisbon ; here 
a terrible conflict ensued ; the prince was routed, and retired 
in» disorder upon the left bank of the Danube : the emperor 
Napoleon passed through Ratisbon on the 29th, took the right 
bank, and by forced marches appeared before Vienna, be- 
fore prince Charles arrived ; took the city, and rested his ar- 
my on the 21st and 22d of May. The prince pissj^d on the 
oppo-ite bank a few miles below the city, and fortified a strong 
camp, upon the heights of Asp-^rn and Esling, opposite to the 
island of Lobeau : the centre of his camp was supported by 
an immense park of artillery, in the form of a crescent ; here 
he awaited the French. 

When the emperor Napoleon had rested, and refreshed his 
army at Vienna, he moved down to Lobeau, caused a brii^e 
of boats to be thrown across on to the island, and from 
thence to the opposite bank ; and put his army in motion to 
cross : when about one half of the army had gained the op- 
posite bank, the prince caused a large quantity of logs (which 
he had prepared for the purpose,) to be let loo^e ; these de- 
stroyed the emperor's bridge, upon the opposite bank, and at 
the same time, Charles commenced an attack. 

The emporor saw his situation to be critical, and his meas- 
ures desperate. He ordered the bridge to be repaired, and 
at the same time commenced an attack upon the Austrian 
camp — but without success : he renewed the attack — but 
without success : he then ordered mareschal Lannes, at the 
head of the French cavalry, to charge the centre ofihe Aus- 
trian camp, and carry the whole crescent of artillery : this 
desperate assault was executed with all the intrepidity and 
valor of mareschal Lannes — but without success ; he crown- 
ed tiiis assault with his death. 

This desperate attack astonished the pnince, and gave a 
check to his efforts ; and Napoleon (having repaired his 
bridge) drew off his army, repassed the Danube, and return- 
ed to Vienna : here he rested and recruited his army a whole 
month. The tributo of respect the enaperor paid to the 
inemory of mareschal Lannes was, to cause his body to be 

31 



conveyecl fo France in r. cor.r>, .<,: ^^ vvith'a black 

pall. Httended bv a militHrv esco?t. 

After the acawi. ot Lobeau, prince Charles moved do^n 
the river, -ind f'TMiind a .^troog camp on the plains of Wa- 
gram, and a.vaii'^d in., emperor. When t'-e eniperor Napo- 
leon had fully recoiirjuitereJ the position ot tiiC prince, he put 
his army in motion, crossed the river again at Lobeau, and 
under cover of a dark, rainy, di«imal night, led his arn^y 
through by-roads considered as! impassable for an army, and 
in the morning appeared on the plains of Wagram, in the 
rear of the prince. The prince m his turn was compelled 
to fight in a position uncomtemplated ; his fortified camp was 
now rendered useless ; the conflict was short, but terrible — 
and fatal to the prince : his army was cut to pieces, routed and 
destroyed, and a remnant fled into Hungary. The emperor 
advanced as far as Presburg, halted his army a few days, re- 
turned to Vienna, settled a peace with the emperor of Aus- 
tria, dismembered again the southern section of Austria, by a 
line running from Switzerland to Hungary, and annexed it to 
Italy : this included the country of the Grissons — November 
8, 1809. 

During these operations, the duke of Sudermania was elect- 
ed king of Sweden, under the title of Charles XIII. May 14 ; 
and on the 9th of August the English invaded the coast of 
Holland with an army of 40,000 men, and took the island of 
Wdlcheren ; but were soon obliged to abandon it, to save 
their army from the pestilence of the climate. 



CHAP. XIX. 



The imperial continental system — divorce oj the empress Jo- 
sephine, and marriage of Maria Louisa of Austria — war in 
Spain — war in Turkey — war in Portugal — birth of the im- 
perial heir of France — preparations for the Russian war — 
America. 

The emperor returned to France ; again formed the line 
of invasion upon the sea-coast, pushed the war in Spain, and 
pressed the continental system, in France, Spain, Italy, Hol- 
land, Austria, Germany, Prussia, Denmark, Sweden and Nor- 
way ; also in Hamburg, and the cities of the Hans^atic league. 



IMPERIAL MARRIAGE. 36,3 

This system at this time embraced all Europe, except Tur- 
key mid Russia. TJve emperor of iUe French now beheld 
hniisejf upon the throne of Charlemagne, with an extent of 
i!o(o» lion greater, and a population fir more numerous, en- 
riciied with all the treasures of commerce, and adorned with 
all the retine'nents of the sciences, and the elegance and 
splendor of the arts. A throne unrivalled in the annals of 
time. The war in Spain was only considered as a field day 
exercise, to i^eep the troops in motion, and amuse the French 
people. 

The ambition of this mighty conqueror was not yet satisfi- 
ed, in his early career of glory under his consulate, he had 
m.rried'the favorite of the director Barras, who filled the 
throtie, as empress, with dignity ; but remained without issue. 
To remedy this evil, and to strengthen his crown, Napoleou 
divorced his wife Josephine, and offered his hand to the arch- 
duchess Maria Louisa of Austria. This overture was accept- 
ed, and general'Berthier, prince of Neufchatel, was despatch' 
ed to Vienna to celebrate the nuptials, and escort the em- 
press into France : where again they were celebrated, with 
all the pomp and splendor, becoming the emperor of France. 
The emperor passed but a short time at Paris : he assem 
bled a large force at Bayonne ; pushed the war in Spain ^ 
strengthened the line of invasion of England ; and passed 
the season of 1810 in visiting his dominions, particularly the 
sea-cost, accompanied by the empress. The war raged this 
year in Spain with various success ; but nothing decisive. 
The emperor of Russia prosecuted the war against the 
Turks with vigor, and acquired some very considerable ad- 
vantages in the provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia. The 
emperor Napoleon, viewed with a jealous eye, these move- 
ments of the emperor Alexander, and determined to checL 
him. He again pressed him to enforce the continental system 
in Russia ; not succeeding in this, he entered into secret trea* 
ties with the courts of Austria and Prussia, to furnish such 
a quota of men, kc. to compel the emperor Alexander to 
adopt the continental system : all under the mask of coerc- 
ing England to a peace. 

• These plans being settled, he began to push the war ie 
Spain and Portugal, with vigor ; sent general Massena into 
Portugal at the head of 70,000 men, and invested the Eng- 
lish and Portuguese in Lisbon. The English fleet protected 
the city, and the French made no assault. 



364 WAR IN P0R1UGAL, 

General Massena drew off his army from before Lisb«B,; 
and retired up the Tagus with a view to cross that river, and. 
€.irry on his operations againat Lisbon upon that left banKs, 
ravage the south country of Portugal, and bombard Lisbon 
from the heights opposite the city. Lord Wellington pressed 
him so close with tne British and Portuguese army, as to (\e- 
feat this movement ; he gained some important, advantages in 
the mountain in the battle of Busaco, over general Massena, 
November 15, 1810. The emperor reinforced this army, 
and general Massena advanced again ; drove Lord Welling- 
ton into Lisbon, and invested the city. The Spanish patriots 
were assembled in arms throughout the interior, and harissed 
the French with frequent and sharp skir^nishes, and the spirit 
of opposition increased daily in Spain. The emperor, at 
this time, saw himself at the head of 800,000 men in arms ; 
450,000 of this force were in the interior of France, and on 
the sea board ; and the pressure on England increased daily. 
Expectations of ruining the English system of finance, were 
very high in France ; but Russia still held out. 

At this time the credit of the English funds stood high ; 
their flag waved in every clime, and every sea. By a fortui- 
tous concurrence of events, the whole trade of South Ameri- 
ca had been opened to England : this supplied her West In- 
dia colonies, as well as augmented her revenue. Loans to 
immense amount were filled as soon as opened ; they 
strengthened their position at Lisbon ; augmented their ar- 
my ; and laid the foundation for the successes of 1812. 

At this time, the empress presented the emperor with an 
heir to the throne, April 20, 1811; who was named Napole- 
on Francis Charles Joseph. Parties at this time ran high in 
America, and the government looked for a war with England. 

The emperor had now completed his plans, and began to 
put his machines in motion : he organized his system of fi- 
nance, to meet the importance of the movements : he in- 
trigued with the PolHs,and promised to restore the unity and 
sovereignty of Poland : drew his best troops from Spain, and 
replaced them by detachments from the north of Germany, 
and the banks of the Vistula ; and pressed the king of Den- 
mark into a compliance with his measures. He dissolved 
the kingdom of Holland, annexed it to France, incorporated 
it vviih the empire, and brought king Louis to Paris. 

At this time, general Massena again fell back from, before 
Lisbon, for want of supplies for his army. Lord Wellington 



WAR IN SPAIN. 



36; 



again pressed close upon the French, and gained some advan- 
tages. The war raged sharp in Spain, between lord Wel- 
lington and general Massena, and became a war of posts. 
The French invested Cadiz, and attempted to reduce it by 
storm ; but the English protected the city, and set them at 
defiance. General Soult assembled and concentrated his 
forces, and by severe and repeated actions, protected liada- 
jos. General Massena in the same manner covered Cindad 
Roderigo. These movements and operations, called forth 
the talents and energies of some of the greatest captains ; 
and the desperate conflicts which frequently took place, to- 
gether with the harassing parties of the Spanish patriots, 
rendered Spain one theatre of carnage and distress. These 
scenes continued to waste and distress that devoted country, 
under various successes, through the years 181 1 and 12, dur- 
ing the grand operations of the Russi^m war ; until the over- 
throw of the emperor Napoleon in the north, gave to his 
enemies the superiority in the south, and secured to lord Wel- 
lington a triumph, which broke the power of Napoleon in 
Spain, and drove the French form the Peninsula. 

During t'.e operations of 1811 in Spain, the whole chris- 
tian world was one theatre of intrigue. The emperor of 
Russia waged successful war with the Turks ; but at the 
same time made overtures for peace. England favored these 
overtures, with a view to unite Russia, Austria, and the Turk, 
in one grand coalition agaiiist France. This failed — Napo- 
leon had guarded against this, by a secret treaty with the 
emperor of Austria. Great efforts were made to relieve 
Prussia from her fallen situation ; but to no effect— Prussia 
was down, and entangled in a secret treaty with the emperor 
of Fr;mce ; and the grand coalition against Russia, was 
formed. 

The war in Spain, gave employment for the troops of Eng 
land ; her flePts scoured the coast of Europe upon the Atlantic 
and the Baltic, and enforced her system ofgen^^ral blockade, 
whilst the great internal movements 'ind military prepiiations 
in Austria, Prussia, Poland, Italy and throughout the confede- 
ration of the knine ; together with the preparations in Rus- 
sia, rendered those countries one great theatre of intrigue 
and alarm ; whilst Spain and European Turkey, were the 
theatres of desol.-ttion and carnage. The intrigues which ex- 
cited and put in motion all th«i iireat plans and operations, 
extended to America ; distraced her councils, imflamed 
. 31* 



366 REMARKS. 

the passions, roused the public feeling, and in addition to the 
continental system of Dec. 1807, led her into the war. 

America, under her neutrality, had become the carriers 
upon the ocean for the continent of Europe, through this long 
and desperate struggle ; her flag waved in every sea, and eve- 
ry clime. Her commercial held was truly great, and the 
harVi^st was great. The wealth and commerce of America 
increased beyond all former example. This excited a spirit 
of envy and jealousy at home and abroad, which endangered 
her internal peace, and in 1812 entangled her in a war with 
England. 

The continental system of 1807, gave a check to the tide 
of prosperous and successful commerce in America ; and the 
War with England, destroyed it, even to the coasting trade, 
down to the peace of 1815. 

The rum and distress which so suddenly succeeded this 
unrivalled prosperity of America, were the necessary effects 
of such opposite extremes ; they were such as the feelings 
of the nation could express — but not the pen. 

If the morals of the nation have been improved, and licen« 
tiousness and dissipation checked ; if union, and general har- 
mony have in some measure grown out of this chastisement ; 
if, as the fruits of a two year's war, America has acquired 
a naval glory, which shall cause her flag to be more respect- 
ed hereafter ; she may derive some consolation for all her 
sufferings, through this long period of distress. 

America not only became entangled in the quarrels of 
Europe, when she adopted the continental system by her 
general embargo — but she actually became a party in the 
grand coalition of 1812, when she declared war against Eng- 
land ; and, painful as this may have been to the nation, it is 
greatly t-o be hoped, that a general good has resulted, and will 
continue to result, which shall fully counterbalance all her 
sufferings. 

We have now unfolded the mysteries of intrigue, which 
entangled in one general quarrel the whole christian world ; 
opened the greatest fieM of military enterprize, produced the 
greatest distresses, and resulted iii the greatest events, of any 
ether war that has ever been recorded. 



RUSSIAN WAR. ^6^ 



CHAP. XX. 

tBcnnmencement of the Russian war — American rvar^inovc- 
ments in the Russian war — battle of Smolensk — of Borodino 
— fall and destruction of Moscow. 

The year 1812 was big with the fate of Napoleon and of 
France. The emperor of the west, now put in motion all. 
the vast machine of power, which he had constructed to fix 
the destinies of Europe. He again renewed his demands on 
the emperor Alexander, to adopt the continental system, and 
demanded that Riga should be garrisoned with the tropps of 
France. — These were rejected with that dignity and firmness 
which distinguished the character of Alexander. 

The emperor then called into the field, the armies of Aus- 
tria and Prussia, as stipulated by treaty, in the year 1811; and 
assembled an army in Prussia and Poland, from all parts of 
his vast dominions, of French, Austrians, Prussians, Germans, 
Italians and Poles, of from four to six hundred thousand 
men, and took up his head quarters at Warsaw. 

The emperor of Russia, assembled an army at Wiina, in 
Poland to watch the French, under the command of prince 
Bagration — entered into a convention with England for gen- 
eral Safety and defence, sent the Russian fleet to England, to 
secure it from the French, but more particularly, as a plodge 
for the general exigencies of the war ; opened a negociation 
for peace with the Turks, under the influence of England, 
and repaired to VVilna. Negociation was soon closed, and 
both armies took the field. 

The emperor moved his grand army to attack the prince 
at Wilna : the prince retired to Drissa : at the same time, a 
Prussian army under general M'Donaid, penetrated into Rus- 
sia, by ttie way of Riga, towards Petersburg. 

The emperor Napoleon now saw (he two capitals of Rus- 
sia, (the great objects of his enterprise) in view, and began 
to realise, that this grand movement would fix the fate of 
Europe, and crown him lord of cbrist»=ndom. 

Every movement was announced, by a special bulletin 
from the emperor Napoleon, proclaimino; the advance and 
successes of the grand army. All Europe, both Turks and 
©feristians, were alive to the scene, and anxious ibr the eveaK 



36i BATTLE OF BORODINO. 

At this critical moment, America proclaimed war against 
England, and made a sudden descent upon Canada. Denmark 
had furnished the tine horses of Holstein, to fill up the caval- 
ry of the French armies, and the whole christian world were 
now leagued against Russia and England, excepting Sweden ; 
she alone remained neuter : the Turk also withdrew from 
the war, gave up his advantages, and settled a peace with the 
emperor Alexander. 

Thus armed, thus arranged, the awful, the eventful scene 
opened. From Drissa, the grand army moved to Polotsk 
the prince again retired to VVitepsk ; the emperor advanced 
the prince again retired to Smolensk, and made a stand 
the emperor advanced • here the two armies met for the 
first time, and a severe action ensued ; the Russians fought 
for their fires and their altars — they were overpowered 
by numbers, and retired with firmness towards Moscow. 

Flushed with the successes of Smolensk, the grand army 
advanced. On the hills of Borodino, the prince, with some 
reinforcements, again made a stand. The emperor pursued 
with a strong column, as his advanced guard, and found the 
Russians strongly intrenched upon an eminence, under co- 
ver of a formidable redoubt, lined with artillery, and de- 
termined to await the issue of a battle, in the view of 
3I0SCOW. 

The emperor beheld at a distance, the object of his wish- 
es — "^oscow, like a little world, filled all t^e plnin. The 
French soldiers, fired with the prospect of reaping the spoils 
of Moscow, as a reward for all their toils, burnt with impa- 
tience for the combiit. 

Napoleon cherished this ardor ; and before the day closed, 
commenced a desperate assault upon the grrfad Russian re- 
doubt, and carried it at the point of the bayonet : the conflict 
was sharp — but the Russians retired, and left this bulwark of 
their defence, in the hands of the French ; night closed the 
scene. 

The next day opened a solemn scene. — The two armies in 
view of each other, passed the day in reconnoitering, and in 
strenG;thening their positions, to complete the work of death. 
Night closed this scene without a blow. The angel of death 
sat brooding over the night, to indulge in a repose, that should 
serve to heighten the carnage of the morning. The fttal morn 
appeared : the sun rose clear, and with bis first beams, caught 



'f lv^JF]LiA>B3ii\5ri©^ ®f MOgiCOWo 




m 

mi 
Ml 



^^^ki^^^ 





IIMl 




|ll'!i 1 


- 


111 


>,lfe7 - 


— 


J rq — 


HZ 


-^ -_ 


IZZ 


1^ -- 


li 


m^ 


iS 

n 




'1 


— ^Mx^l^^^ 


■"S^ 


^Be^ 


i 




Ail Ocean of Fbme ." ^//y.. A^a/,o/rr>n . 
'.^y^haN^ ,r^,,ulr ,„ f7„ truon/,k off?,. Ilefi,ru,ntion on,7 th. 



dSONFLAGPATIOK OF MOSCOW. oOS 

the eye of the emperor Napoleon ; who exclaimed with em- 
phasis, " 'tis the sun of Austerhtz." Death roused from ins 
slumbers, and opened the scene. Prince Bagration com- 
menced an attack, to recover the redoubt he had lost the pre- 
ceding day ; a strong Russian column moved to the charge : 
it was now impregnable ; and vomited forth death into the 
Russian ranks, and broke the column. Both armies became 
engaged in the conflict : the ardor and impetuosity of the 
French, forced the Russians to recoil ; but it was only to 
concentrate their force, and advance in soHd columns to the 
charge. The conflict now became terrible ; the ardor of 
the French, and the (irmness of the Russians, opened a dis- 
play of valor and heroism, amidst the thunders of a cannon- 
ade, and the carnage of afield, that will ever render memo- 
rable, the battle of Borodino ; valor and heroism, which nei- 
ther the pen, nor the pencil can describe. The French re- 
tired, and left the field to the defenders of their country ; the 
great Bagration crowned with bis death, the victory of Boro- 
dino. The emperor Napoleon drew off his army, to recover 
his losses ; and published in general orders — " Soldiers ! This 
is the first action I ever lost ; you must wipe off the stain, 
with the blood of the Russians/' The losses in this action 
Tvere severe upon both sides — but nothing decisive : it had 
not become the sun of Austerlitz — the stratagem failed. Old 
prince Kutusoff, who now became the Russian chief, did^ not 
pursue the victory ; had he done it, it would then have been 
the sun of Austerlitz — the emperor Napoleon would have 
brought into action his corps de reserve, and the actios would 
have become the action of Austerlitz. The scene was re- 
versed :— Kutusoff retired to Moicow, marched through, 
collected all the treasures and inhabitants of the city, and 
carried off the fire engines ; and when the emperor of the 
French entered, the Russians divided into three armies, and 
invested him in Moscow. Rastapchin, the governor, gave a 
general notice to the inhabitants, who had made a general 
preparation for removal ; and in the midst of the triumphs of 
the emperor, they fired the city : the convicts in the prisons, 
were set at liberty for this awful scene ; and in one hour, the 
flames burst forth from all parts, and raged throughout the 
city. Thus, thie ancient capital of Russia, the pride and boast 
of Muscovy, a city, ten miles in extent, and thirty or forty 
miles in circuit, was wrapt in fiames,_and consum d with one 
general conflagration, which can neither be conceived^ofj n»n 



370 CHARACTER OF THE Wia, 

described : the awful sublimltj' of the scene, was strikingly 
expressed by the emperor Napo):oji — ''It was an ocean of 
Jiamty But the wealth and splerr or of Moscow were soon 
smoking in ruins — Fntal was the battio of Pultowa, to CKadrs 
XII. : fatal was the destruction of Moscow, to the emperor 
>^apoieon. 



CHAP. XX!. 

Character of the Russians — overtures of peace—firmness of 
the emperor Alexander — views oj Napoleon — retr-at of the 
French—flight of Napohon — desiruction of ihe French ar- 
my — the emperor Napoleon in Paris — again in Saxony at 
ihe head of a new army — battle of Leipsic — Napoleon in Pa- 
ris — successes of Lord Wellington — restoration rf the fami- 
ly of Bourbon — Napoleon at FMu — lord WeUinsiton in Pa- 
ris — Napoleon in Paris — battle of Waterloo — Napoleon in 
England — at St. Helena — Lewis XV III . age in in Paris — 
Lord Wellington again in Paris — the empress Maria Louisa, 
with her little son, at Milan. 

The Russians are the descendants of the ancient Sc}'thi- 
ans : the war was a Scythian war ; and the result, such as has 
been common to the invasions of Scy thia. The French gave 
a loose rein to all the passions in Moscow ; and rioted amrlst 
the distresses of the scene. The emperor Napoleon took up 
his quarters in the Kremlin, the citadel of Moscow, and cradle 
of the Czars of Russia. Here he made overtures of peace 
to the emperor Alexander : the emperor amused him until 
he had collected his forces, strengthened his armies, and sent 
orders for the army of the Danube to advance, in the rear of 
the French, to intercept their retreat. 

This army had been trained to arms, in the successful cam- 
paigns against the Turks, in 1810 and 1 1. Then the empe- 
ror Alexander rejected the overture, and published ii ■ ' 
manifesto — " I will never make peace, so long as Napo a 
or any of his family, are upon the throne of France." 

Napoleon now saw before him, the dreadful alterna; 
That confidence which had led him to the conquest of Most 
taught him to believe, that he should winter there ; and he 
neglected even one solitary preparation to facilitate a retr t|| 
The Russians, on their retreat, laid waste their country ; ^^ ' 



FLTGTIT OF NAPOLEON. 371 

what the Russians left, the French army destroyed ; so that 
the whole extent of way, from Moscow to Polotsk, on the 
confines of Poland, was litt rally a desert ; and the Russians 
were now destroymg all tl- bridges, through all this extent 
of w«iy. The emperor Napoleon now felt the destruction of 
Moscow. Instead of rioting, with his army, through the win- 
ter, in the spoils of Moscow ; — instead of restoring the ancient 
sovereignty of Muscovy, placmg his brother Louis on the 
throne of the Czars, who should reign in the north, the great 
ally of France, humble the emperor Alexander, and bar his 
sword from all farther weight in the great scale of Europe ; 
instead of returning in the spring with his victorious army in- 
to France, to swell the trump of fame with the triumphs of 
another campaign ; instead of assembling all confederated 
Europe on the banks of the Danube, and under the protecting 
sword of his ally of Muscovy — (fhis contemplated shield of 
the north) — marching at the bead of his legions to the banks 
of the Hellespont, and planting his eagles on the walls of Con- 
stantinople ; — may 1 yet say, instead of triumphing over Asia 
and America, and erecting his standard upon the ruins of the 
liberties of man ; this hero of Borodino and of Moscow, be- 
came the hero of a different scene. * He wreaked his ven- 
geance on the Kremlin, by blowing up, and destroying the 
cradle of the ancient sovereigns of Muscovy ; collected the 
remaining treasures of Moscow, and took up his retreat, in 
order to recover his former position in Poland. His first move- 
ments v/ere regular ; but the assembled armies of Russia, un- 
der that old veteran, prince Kutusoff, fired with revenge for 
the smoking ruins of their country, pressed on his rear, and 
soon overtook the spoil-incumbred foe. Torn with a suc- 
cession of murderous conflicts ; galled by the distressing rav- 
ages of the Cossacs ; stung with the severities of a Russian 
winter^; this conqueror became a fugitive ; stripped of his ar- 
tillery and baggage by the death of his horses, the spoils of 
Moscow fell into the hands of the Russians. Pressed by the 
Russians, murdered by the Cossacs, the retreat of the French 
became the flight of a confused mass, without order, without 
discipline, without supplies, a prey to death in every form ; 
destroyed by. and destroying, every thing in their route. He 
who so late had been the idol, now became the reproach of this 
wreck of an army ; himself no longer safe in the midst of these 
fugitives, he fiow became a fugitive and deserted bis myrmidons 
in the midst of death. On the confines of Krasnoy, on the 



372 BATTLE OF LEIPSIC. 

banks of the Dneiper. Napoleon fled ; fled in disguise ; and 
fled alone ' just at the time, when the army of the Danube 
appeared in his rear, to intercept his flight. Language can- 
not paint, imajination cannot conceive of the distresses of 
the scenes liiat followed ; suffice it to say, that this mighty 
force, wnich under the appellation of the grand army, had 
m.uciied into Kussn victorious j when it reached Poland, had 
vaf'i^ned "like tne baseless fabric of a vision, and left not a 
wreck behind." 

The arm)- of Prussia, which entered Russia by the way of 
Riga, returned entire, and the army of Austria separated from 
the grand army in the retreat, and returned with great loss ; 
but escaped ruin. Napoleon repaired to Paris, as Charles 
Xil. returned through Germany ; assembled his senate, dis- 
closed his losses, and put the Empire under a fresh requisi- 
tion, for men, money, and arms ; in two months, assembled 
a new army, put himself at their head, and took the field in 
Saxony. The emperor of Russia, in the mean time, entered 
Prussia, and joined the king, with his victorious army ; the 
emperor of Austria entered Bohemia, with one hundred thou- 
sand men, as mediator for fiis son in law. Napoleon. The 
allies brought into the ti.dd Bernadiotte, prince of Pontecorvo, 
now crown prin<e of Sweden ; with an army of one hundred 
thousand men, to enter the lists with Napoleon his old mas- 
ter, i'his Bernadotte was a distinguished general in the 
Prussian war of 1006 — 7, in the service of the emperor of 
France, and was elected crown prince of Sweden, when in 
the French service, upon the deposition of Gustavus IV. 

The sovereigns of Russia and Prussia, took up their head- 
quarters at Dresden, in Saxony. Prince Bernadotte, took 
the field, at the head of his Swedes ; the emperor Napoleon 
was encamped at Leipsic. Balanced in this awful state of 
suspense, the armies awaited the decision of the emperor of 
Austria. When they were ready for action, his mediation 
was closed ; he declared for the allies, against his son in \nw 
Napoleon, and the'confiift began. The thunders of Borodi- 
no were renewed upon the plains of Leipsic, the conflict was 
desperate, and the carnage terrible. The French were true 
to their emperor ; but the contest was unequal ; — overpow- 
ered by numbers, they gave way, fled in disorder, and were 
butchered and destroyed. vTith a horrible slanghter 

The brave general Moreau, who had returne i from .Amer- 
itia, and joined the crown prince of Sweden, fell in the heat 



CAPTURK OF THE EMFKROR NAPGLEOK. 37S 

of the action. The three sovereigns of Russia, Austria and 
Prussia, beheld the awful scene from their quarters, and when 
the victory was announced, they fell on their knees, and 
g;ave thanks to God. Napoleon, with the shattered remains 
of his army, fled into France, and repaired to Pans, assem- 
bled the wreck of his army, anri prepared for his defence ; 
the allies of Russia, Austria and Prussia, pursued into 
France, invested Napoleon in Paris, and took him by capit- 
ulation ; stripped him of his crowns, and banished him to the 
island of Elba. 

They next subdued the French forces in the west of Ger- 
many, established the sovereig;nty of Holland, and restored 
the Stadtholder. The English, Portuguese and Spaniards, 
recovered Portugal and Spain — drove out king Joseph, and 
entered France victorious, under t!ie duke of Wellington, to 
co-operate with the allies in the conquest of Napoleon. The 
allies restored the Bourbon family, under Lewis XVUl. : 
established a strong force at Paris, under the Duke of Wel- 
lington ; the emperor of Russia, and king of Prussia, visited 
England — retired to Vienna, and formed a congress to settle 
the claims of the several powers, for their losses in the war. 
Nothing had ever appeared in Europe like the violence of the 
French Revolution. It had overthrown the ancient civil and 
religious establishments, destroyed the ancient balance of 
power, changed many of the ancient limits and boundaries; 
involved all the states in enormous debts, and laid the foun- 
dation for a labyrinth of claims. The congress of Vienna 
had spent six months in settling the difficulties which had aris- 
en, when they were roused from their sitting, as by a clap of 
thunder, with the news, '* that Napoleon was in iParis, and 
at the head ot the army." Struck with alarm they closed 
tlieir sitting, repaired to the head of their armies, and took 
the field. 

The Russian and Austrian armies took their position upon 
the Rhine, on the east of France, to guard the bridge of Stras- 
burg. The English and Prussian armies were posted in Flan- 
ders, with the English army in advance, twenty or thirty 
miles. One French army lay on the east to watch the Rus- 
sians and Austrians, and another in Flanders to watch the 
English and Prussians. The emperor fortified his capiralj 
and attempted to renew the conscription, but this failed. 
France had long been tired of this wasting conduit, tl^roug^ 
3g 



374 JiATTLE OF WATERLOO. 

which the blood of her sons had flowed so freely — he saw 
himself deserted by the nation, but supported by the armies. 

His plans were fixed : he left Paris in the night, (according 
to his usual custom,) put himself at the head of the army of 
the north, and commenced an attack upon the English army, 
under lord Wellington, with expectations of destroying this 
army at a blow; then the Prussian army at another blow; 
and then the armies of Russia and Austria would have 
fallen an easy conquest to the united forces of the victorious 
emperor, and his popularity would have enabled him to re- 
new the conscription. 

The allies had set for this old fox, his own trap of Auster- 
litz and Borodino. He commenced a furious assault upon 
lord Wellington — his lordship had seen the French in Spain 
— he received the charge of the French with firmness: the 
conflict was severe and obstinate; the English retired, and 
resisted as they retired ; the Prussians advanced, and the ac- 
tion continued. On the second day, the allies formed a junc- 
tion — the action became general, and the carnage was great. 
On the third day, the action was renewed: the French, ex- 
hausted with the long conflict, and overpowered by numbers, 
gave way : Napoleon rallied to the charge, again and again ; 
the conflict became desperate — the allies opened a battery of 
artillery upon the centre of the army of Napoleon — the de- 
struction was terrible ; he drew up his guards to support his 
centre; they fell almost to a man : Napoleon exclaimed to 
the officer near him " 'tis time for us to go." He fled into 
France, and left his army to their fate ; resigned his crown to 
his son ; made for the sea-coast ; delivered himself up to the 
captain of an English ship ; and was conveyed to England. 

The allies assembled at Paris; restored Louis XVIU. ; 
establisheil again the duke of W^ellington, with a strong force 
to protect the king — and secured the tranquillity of Europe. 
The sovereigns again retired to Vienna ; opened their con- 
gress, and sentenced Napoleon to the Island of St. Helena, 
for liie. 

The empress Maria Louisa, (upon the first invasion of 
France by the allies in 1813,) retired with her son into Italy, 
took up her abode at Milan, and devoted herself to the care 
of her son ; who is now considered by many as heir apparent 
to the throne of France, upon the demise of Louis XVHL 0B^ 

^ ^'jf -& T^lM ^ i^, A, J^J «* fix 



SOVEREIGNS OF EUROPE. 



SOVEREIGNS OF ENGLAND. 

We have notiCfed in our remarks upon England, the decided sover- 
eignty of the island, at and before the Roman invasion ; that during the 
period of nearly five centuries, the Romans kept the peace between 
the petty sovereigns, and when they withdrew their power, the Saxons, 
under Hengis and Horsa, seized on the island ; and subdued all these 
small hordes under the dominion of the Heptarchy, and thus laid the 
foundation of the representative government. 



The union Of this Heptarchy, under 
Alfred the great, was also noticed, 
who may be fairly styled the first 
English monarch, and laid the foun- 
dation of the government. 

Alfred was succeeded by his son Ed- 
V ard the elder, 

Atlielstan, . - . - 

Edmund, - . - • 

Eilred, - -^ . - 

Kdwy, - - . - 

Edgar, .... 

Edward the Martyr, 

Etheh-ed, .... 

Edmond Ironside, 

Canute the Dane, Danish line, 

Harold Harefoot, Danish line, 

Ilardicanute, Danish line. 

Etlward the Confessor, - 

Harold, .... 

William the Conqueror, Danish Hne. 

William Rufus, ... 

Heni-y I, - 

Stephen, - . . - 

Henry II. 

Richard I.- 
John, .... 





Henry III. 










. 


1216 




EdwardjI. 












- 1272 




Edward II. 










. 


1307 




Edward III. 












- 1326 


880 


RichaM II. 










. 


1377 




Henry IV. 












- 13&9 


910 


Henry V. 










. 


14U 


925 


Henr\ VI. 












- 1422 


941 


Edward IV. 










. 


1460 


948 


Edward V. 












- 1483 


955 


Richard III. 










. 


1483 


959 


Henry VII. 












- 1^85 


975 


Henry VIII. 










. 


1509 


978 


Edward VI. 












- 1546 


lOIfi 


Mary. 










. 


1553 


1017 


Elizabeth, 












- 1558 


1035 


James I. - 










. 


1602 


1039 


Charles I. 












- 1635 


1041 


Charles II. 










. 


1648 


1066 


James II. 












- 1685 


1066 


William and Mai 


yj 






. 


1688 


1087 


Ann, - 


- 










- 1702 


HOC 


George I. 










. 


1714 


1135 


George II. 


. 










- 1727 


1154 


George III. 










. 


1760 


118U 


Regency of the Prince of Walts, 


- 1811 


1199 

















SOVEREIGNS OF FRANCE. 



We have r.oticed tlie origin of the 
kingdom of the Franks, or Frajice, 
under riiaromond-^who led his 
Franks over the Rhine, in the fifth 
century ; from whom descended 
Clovis— who commenced his reign, 

The next sovereign \\ orthy of notice 
was Clotair I. - 

Clotair II. - 

Dagobert, ... 

Clovis II. - 

Rei)in Heinstel, 7 a* ,„ 

Charles Maitel, $^^-^^^^ 

End of the , fir St race of Kings. 





Pepin, son of Charles 






752 




Charlemagne, 






771 




Lewis, D. bonnoir, - 




- 


814 




Lothario, 






840 




Lewis 11. 




. 


B55 


486 


Charles the bald, 






87S 




Lewis the Stammerer, 




. 


877 


511 


Lv-wis III. 






879 


613 


Charles the fat, 




. 


884 


632 


Cliarles III. 






893 


644 


Robert, 




- 


i>22 


632 


Rodolph, 






923 


714 


Lewis the stranger, - 




. 


936 




Lothario, 






951 




Lewis VI. - 




. 


906 




End of the second 


race o 


f KiV'^s 





>76 



SOVEREIGNS OF EUROPE. 



Hugh Capet, « - - 987 

Kobtrt, .... 99f 

Hiiiryl. .' . . . 1031 

Pliilijil. . , - - 1059 

Ltwis VI. - - - - 1106 

L^ Mis VII. - - - 1137 

Pl:iljp II.— styled augiist, - - Ih-iC 

Lc\> is VIII. - - - 1223 

Levis IX. .... 1226 

Philip III.— styled hardy. - 1271 

Philip IV.— styled the fair, - - 1285 

Lewis X. - - - 1314 

Mm I. .... 1316 

Pliilip v.— suriiamed the Long, 1316 

eh:oU-s IV.— stvKd the fair. - 1322 

i^hilip VI. ■ - - - 1328 

.fol-n II. - - - - 1350 
Edward III of England— by consan- 

gi.iiiity, and by conquest. - 1357 

CliKrksV. .... 136. 

Charles VI. - - - 138( 



Charles VII. ... 145^2 
lienry VI. of England, - - 1430 
Lewis XI. - - - 1461 
Charles VIIL - - - 1483 
Lewis XII. - - - 1498 
Francis I. - - - - 1515 
Francis II. - - - 1559 
Charles IX. .... 156O 
Her^ry III. ... 1574 
Henry IV. - - - . i589 
Lewis XIII. ... 1610 
Lewis XIV ten years of age, - 1643 
crowned, - - 1654 
Lewis XV, .... 1715 
Lewis X\I.—Gmllofmed in the revolu- 
tion. .... 1774 
Ltwis XVII. aged eleven years— Poj- 

soned in the rer'olution. - - 1795 

Napoleon Bonai>artt, Emperor, 1804 

Ltwis XVIIl. crowL'td. - ■ - 1814 



SOVEREIGNS OF SPAIN. 



S'oTereigns of Spain, under the Visi- 
goths, who founded their kingdom 
in Spain. ... 

Their barbarous superstition rendtr- 
eti S})ain one continued scene of 
hi tchcry, nearly 300 years ; in 
which time, her kings fell, in such 
rapid succession as to have not more 
than three or four on record, worthy 
of notice. .... 

Lovegild, ... 

Sisebut, . _ . - 

Waniba, . . - 

Pelagius, .... 

Abdurahman, Caliph of the Moors, 

Spain, during three centuries, contin- 
ued divided into a great number of 
small kingdoms, initil they began to 
be united under Ferdinand the great. 

Sancho, .... 

Alphonso, ... 

Alphonso VII. ... 

Alphonso VIIL - 

•Sancho III. - 

Ferdinand 11.— died suddenly. - 

Alphonso IX. ... 

Henry I. 



1027 
1065 
1072 
1209 
1122 
115' 
1158 
1158 
4214 



Ferdinand III. 




. 


1216 


Alphonso X. 


- 




1252 


•>anch() IV. . 




. 


1284 


Ferdinand IV. - 


. 




1295 


\lphonso XL 




. 


1312 


Peitr, the cruel, 


. 




1350 


Henry II, - 




. 


1368 


John I. . 


. 




1379 


Henry III. - 




, 


1390 


JohnlL - 


. 




140S 


Ht nry IV. - 




. 


1454 


Ferdinand and Isabella, - 




1474 


Philip I. 


. 


. 


1504 


Charles I.— Emperoi 


Charles V. 


1516 


Philip IL - 




. 


1555 


Phihpin. 


. 


. 


1591 


Philip IV. - 
Charles II. 


. 


, 


1612 


. 


- 


1665 


Philip V. 


. 


. 


1701 


Ferdinand VI. - 


. 


. 


1725 


Charles IIL 


. 


. 


1746 


Charles IV. - 


. 


. 


1788 


resigned 


to Ferdinand VII 


1808 


Both, by intrigues 


of the 


Emperor 




Napoleon, resigned to Joseph Bona 




parte, 


. 


. 


1808 


Ferdinand restored, 


- 


- 


1813 



EMPERORS OF GERMANY -beginning with Charlemagne. 



Charlemagne, 

Lothario I. - - - 

Lewis n. 

Charles the bald, 

Charles the fat, 

Arnold, . - - - 

f A'w is IV. at seven years of age. 

End of tlie race of Charlemagi 
Conriid I. of Germany, 
lTem7 I. of Saxony. 
Otho L— styled great, 
OthoIL - - 

Otho IIL . . . . 

tlersrvIL 



800 


1 Conrad IL 






1024 


840 


iHemy in. 




. 


- 1039 


855 


'Henry IV. 






1056 


874 


Henry V. 




- 


- 1106 


879 


Lothario II. 






1125 


888 


Conrad III. 




. 


. 1137 


899 


Frederic I. 






1151 




Heni-y VI. 




. 


. 1190 


911 


Philip, . 






1197 


918 


Otho IV. 




. 


- .12»8 


936 


Frederic II. 






1212 


973 


Conrad IV. 




. 


- 1250 


983 


Rodolph of Hapsburg, - 
Adolphus of Nassau, 


1273 


1002 


. 1291 



SOVEREIGNS OF EUROPE. 



Mixi-t I. of Austria, 


- 


. 


1293 


Rodolph II. 


1576 


Htiay VII. 




. 


1309 


Mathias, 


- 1012 


Frederic the handsome, and Lewis V. 


1315 


Fcrdiiiaiid IL 


1619 


Lewis V. 


. 




1322 


Ferdiiiajid III. 


- 1639 


Charles IV. 






1347 


Leopold I. . . „ 


1656 


Wiiiceslaiis, - 


. 




1378 


Joseph I. - - - 


- 1705 


Robert, Count Palatine, 






1399 


Charles VL 


1712 


Sigismiind, - 

Albert H. of Austria, - 


_ 




1411 


CharKs VIL of Bavaria, 


- 1742 






1438 


Francis I. of Lorrain. - 


1745 


Frederic III. 


. 




1440 


Joseph IL - 


- 17.^5 


Maximilian I. 






1493 


Leopold II. 


1750 


Charles V. King of Spain, 


. 




151P 


Francis II. • 


- 17&2 


Ferdinand I. 






1558 


now on tlie throne, 


1818 


Maximilian IL 


- 




1564 






SOVEREIGNS OF RUSSIA. 




Peter I.- 




. 


1682 


Peter III. 


176JJ 


Catherine I. - 


. 


. 


1725 


Catherine IL 


. 1765 


Peter II. - 




. 


1727 


Paul, . - - . 


1796 


Anne, 


. 


. 


173f 


Alexander, 


. 180O 


John the Infant. 




. 


1740 


now on the throne, 


1818 


Elizabeth, - 


- 


- 


1741 










SCOTI 


uAND. 





The antiquity of Scotland's Kings stands unrivalled In Europe; she 
boasts her royal line of Kings, from Fergus I ; who settled in Scotland, 
as early as the subversion of the Medo-Persian empire, by Alexander ; 
three hundred and thirty years before Christ. She claims a regular 
succession of one hundred and fifteeen Kings, through a period of one 
thousand nine hundred and thirty-Uvo years, down to the time of her 
union with England, under James 1, 1602 ; and from thence to the 
confirmed union of 1707, when the crown of Scotland was united with 
the crown of England under the title of Great-Britain. 

The history of this nation, in connexion with the history of England, 
has claimed and received our attention. A list of her Kings, would 
swell the size of this work without advantage; since her political ex- 
istence has become incorporated with England. 

SOVEREIGNS OF POLAND. 



Siffismund, 


1583 


Uladislaus, 


- 16<2 


JohnIL - - . - 


1648 


Michad, 


- 1669 


Frederic IL Elector of Saxojiy, 


1697 


Stanislaus 1. ... 


. 1704 


Frederic II. restored. 


1710 



Frederic III. - - - 1733 

Stanislaus II. ... 1754 

fell with the partition of 

Poland, between Russia, Austria and 

Prussia, - - - 1795 

died at Petersburg, - 1793 



SOVEREIGNS OF SWEDEN, 



Gustavus Vasa, - 


1523 


Sigismund I. - - 


- ]5Qi; 


Charles IX. 


160' 


Gnstavus Adolphus, 


- 161] 


Christiana, six years of ag:e, 


1633 


Charles Gustavns X. 


- 1654 


Charl s XI. aged four years. 


166r 


Charles XII. fifteen years of age, 


- J 699 



TTlrica, Charles' sister, - - 1713 

Adolphus, ... 1751 

'iustavus III. - - - 1771 
murdered by count An- 
kerstrom. ... 

Gustavus IV. deposed, - - 17Q2 

Charles XIII. - - - 180<> 

General Bernadotte cr«>vned rrinee, 1810 



32# 



378 



SOVEREIGNS OF EUROPE. 



SOVEREIGNS OF DENMARK. 



Frederic I. 
Christian III. 
Fr deric II. 
Clirjstian IV. 
Frederic III. 



1523 
1554! 
1558 

155P 
1648 



Frederic IV. - - - 159? 

Christian VI. - - - i730 

Frederic V. - - - 1746 

Christian VII. - - - 1807 

Frederic VI. now on the throne, 1811 



Christian V. ' - - - 1670 

SOVEREIGNS OF PORTUGAL. 



Alphonso Henriquez, fii-stKing, 1139 
His line held the throne, with little 

inti-rruption, do\^^l to Jolin I. - 1385 

Don Henry, - - - 1-114 

John II. .... 1464 

Emanuel I. - - - 1495 

Don Sehastian, ... 

Henry the Cardinal, - - 



Philip II. ICing of Spain, - 


- 1581 


John III. 


<— — 


John IV. 


- 1640 


Alphonso, 


1646 


Peter II. 


- 1683 


JohnV. - . - 


1706 


Joseph ... 


- 1750 


Mary, - 


1777 



SOVEREIGNS OF PRUSSIA. 



Frederic I. 
Frederic II. 
Fi-ederic III. 



1701 1 1 Frederic IV. 
1713 Frederic V. 
174011 



- 1786 
1798 



PRESIDENTS AND VICE-PRESIDENTS OF 
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



PBESIDENTS. 




VICE-PKESIDEI 


George Washington, 


1789 


John Adams, 


re-elected, 


- 1793 


re-elected, 


John Adams, ... 


1797 


Thomas Jefferson, 


Thomas Jeiferson, - 


- 1801 


Aaron Burr, 


re-elected, - 


1805 


George Clinton, 


James Madison, 


- 1809 


re-elected 


re-elected, 


1813 


Elbridge Geny, 


James Monroe, 


. 1817 


Daaiel D. Tompliins, - 



- 1789 
1793 

- 1797 
1801 

- 1805 
1809 

- 1813 
1817 



A CHRONOLOGICAL 

TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

PART FIRST. 

FROM THE CREATION, TO THE SUBVERSION OF THE ROMAN 
EMPIRE, 450. 

CHAP. I. 

history — its divisions and use— from the creatioii, to thejlood — thence to 

the building- of Kineveh a7id Babylon. 
A. M. 

Inti-oductory remarks, . - . - - 

1 The creation of the universe, .... 

The liappy state of man, .... 

The apostacy, ...... 

The curse that followed, .... 

A ransom promised in the seed of the woman, 

The employment and wretchedness of man, 

Worship by sacrifice early instituted, ... 

129 The first war— Cain slew his brother Abel, 

God the judge and avenger of blood, ... 

Violence marked the character of the old world, 

1656 Noah, the ai-k, and the deluge, . . - - 

1657 Noah and his family began to people the earth, 
The employment of men, .... 

1770 The building of Babylon and Nineveh, 

The influence of these cities on the manners of that age, and their conquests^ 
General religious character of man, .... 




Page 

s 



CHAP. IL 



From the call of Abraham and his family ^ to the death of Joseph hit 

grandson in. Egypt. 
S> C. 

1931 God called Abram to found his church, - - - - 8 

1871 God tried the faith of Abraham in the sacrifice of Isa&c, - • 9 

Hagar and Ishmael rejected, - - - - . « 

The angel comfort! d Hagar with the promise of God, - - u 

Character of the Arabs, lusdeseendams, - - - . « 

183'7 Marriage of Isaac— birth and character of Esau and Jacob, - « 

1821 Death of Abraham— Jacob ai>d his twelve sons, - • - « 

1716 Death of Isaac, .-_... « 

Jacob wrestles with the angel, and obtains the name of Israel, - « 

Jacob's partiality to Joseph causes his brethren to sell him, - «< 

Joseph's character aiid trials in Egypt, * - ■ - 18 

1715 I'srajs;d to power, and next (0 the king, ... k 

1707 Sends for lii^ fathr's family down into Egypt, . . . « 

1689 Wher- good old Jacob, or Israd died, - - - « 

And was conveyed by his sons to Canaan and entombed, - - 11 

1635 Joseph andliislbrethxen— his «havaet«r— death and prophecy, - «« 



J80 CONTENTS. 

CHAP. III. 

Fro7n the death of Joseph, to the call of Moses— the plagues in Egypt— 

the departiire of the Hebrews unaer Jlloses and Aaron, a?ul the de- 
struction of Pharaoh at the Bed Sea. 

B. C. Page 

1577 Commencement of a new era in the family of Abraham, - - 12 

Oppression of his dcsCLiidants by tlie destruction of tbt children, - " 

1571 Mosts born, and bid ii the flags of the river, . . . »« 

His preservariou and education, .... " 

He kills an Egy ptian, and flies into Midian, - - - " 

1491 Is conunissioncd by God from the burning bush, - - 13 

Moses and Aaron stand beior^- Pharaoh king of Egypt, and demand the 

deliverance of the Hebrews, - . . . . « 

Confirm tlitir conunission by miracles, - - - " 

1491 rhtse compel Pharaoh to send away the Hebrews, - - 14 

Pharaoh pursues— the miracle of the Red Sea, - - " 

The triumphant song of the children of Israel. - . . « 

CHAP. IV. 

From the passage of the Jied Sea, to the givmg of the Moral Latv at 
mount Synai — the death of Moses and Aaron — the possession of the 
land of Canaan under Joshua, and the change of government un- 
der their krnq-s. 
B. C. ■ 

General remarks— displays of Mount Sinai. - - - 15 

The idolatrous apostac) of Aaron, and the camp of Isi'ael, - - 16 

Moses in his w rath breaks the tables of ihe Moral Law. punishes the idola- 
ters, and returns into the Mount, where God inscribed two other tables 
as before. .-..-. .« 

Mosts gives offence to God at the waters of Meribah, - - " 

1451 Death of Aaron and Moses, and appointment of Joshua, . . « 

to Remarks— passage of the river Jordan, ... « 

1453 Miraculous reduction of Jericl.o, ---..« 
Th.- iOO years sojourning predict-d by God to Abraham, closed. - " 

Death of all over 20 years of again the wilderness, - - 17 

Division of Canaai.— Their foi'm of govermnent— Their happy state — Their 

idolatry and corruption, - ... - " 

General remarks. --...- 18 

CHAP. V. 

Change of Jeivish Theocracy to the government of their kings. — dispersion 

of the ten tribes, by Psulmanazer — remarks. ' 
B.C. 

10P5 Saul, the first king of Israel anointed by Samuel, - - 19 

1085 David the Shepherd king— to the exclusion of Saul, - - ♦* 

1015 Solomon— the ten pie— and temple worship, . - „ « 

975 Rchoboara, and tlit di\ ision of the tribes. . , . « 

721 Dispersion of the ten tribes bv PsaliT.anazer - » « 20 

The prophecy of Moses fulfilled, - . . - . « 

Conjectures upon the ten tribes— remarks, ... « 

CHaP. VI. 

Destruction of JVineveh — conquest of JSfebiichadnezsar— siege of Tyre—- 



CONTENTS. 



conquest of E^ypt— captivity of the two tribes — displays of God in 

Babylon. 

B. C. Page 

Destniction of Nineveh, and union of Chaldea and Assyria, - - 21 

600 Captivity of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, bj- Nebuchadnezzar, - ^ 22 

Disi)laj s of God in Babylon, .-..,'« 

569 Humiliation of Ntbuchadnezzar, - - - - - 23 

562 His restoration and gratitude to God, . - . . « 

General remarks, ...... c 



CHAP. VIL 



Oongnest of Cyriis—fall of Babylon— restoration of the Jews — expedition 

of Darius — of Xerxes — pass of Thermopylae. 
B. C. 

£62 Death of Nebuchadnezzar, and succession of Belshazzar, - - 24 

555 Cyaxares and Cyrus w age successful war with Belshazzar— and Babylon 
338 is subdued by Cyrus, ..... 25 

536 Cyrus lays the foundation of the Medo Persian empire, - . « 

Delivers the Jews from captivity, and restores them to their land, - - - «< 

529 His i-eign and deadi, - - - - - - 26 

500 Darius— his expedition and overthrow in Seythia, - - 

481 X«rxcs— his expt^lition into Greece, - - . 

Characti^r of the Greeks, - ... 

Leoiiidas at tht Pass of Thermopylae, - - - 

Niwal action of Salamin, - ... 

Glorious victory of Platea, - . . _ 

Civil war in Persia, bt tween Cyrus the younger, and Artaxerxes, 

The Greeks engage as auxiliaries, - - 

341 Defeat and death of Cyrus, and retreat of 10,000 Greeks, 

Improvements in Greece, ..... 

340 The ambition and death of Philip king of Macedon, - - - 39 

336 Rise and character of Alexander his son and successor^ . . « 



CHAP. VHI. 



Expedition of Alexander— fall of the Persian Monarchy. 
B. C. 

View of the vision of the prophet Daniel, ... 

335 Alexander begins the conquest of Asia, . . - . 

Battle of the Granicus, - - = . - 

Battle of Issus— flight of Darius king of Persia, 
Si. ge, and conquest of Tyre— Cor.quest of Egypt, 
Alexander returns into Syria, and visits Jerusalem, 
Is confirmed in his ambition by the Jewish scriptures, 
330 He proceeds into Persia— fights the battle of Arbtla, routs and destroys 

Darius, and conquers Babylon, . . - . . 



CHAP. IX. 



Alexander establishes the empire of the Greeks upon the rvin of the Per- 
sian — dies — Jivis on of the Grecian empire — rise of the Roman empire 
— of the Carthagenian — their wars— fall of Carthage — revolutions of 
the Roman empire. 
B. C. 
323 Alexander subdues the eastern and northern provinces, - - 33 

P:stablishes the Grecian, upon the ruins of die Persian government, but re- 
tains the Persian customs and manners— kills Clitus and Calisthenes, '' 
323 He dies in the midst of licentiousness. ..." 
His four principal generals divide his empire, - - - Ci 
Autiochusjoue of the Selucidse of Syria, distresses the Jews, and the wars 



382 CONTENTS. 

B. C. Page 

of Syx'ia and Egypt are almost perpetual down to the conquest of the 

Romans— yit Ishniai 1 dwells safe—remarks, . - - 34 

Origiii of the Romans, .-..._ « 

Trojan war, and Grecian colony, --...« 

Homer the father of epic poeti7, .... « 

1233 Carthage founded by Dido from Tyre - - - - 35 

753 Romulus founds. Rome, ..... n 

Wars of Carthage and Rome, - • - - - • 36 

Thtir governments and wars continued, ... « 

241 Hamilcar and Hannibal— End of the first punic war, - - . « 

Hannibal carries his arms into Italy, and Scipio carries the Roman arms 

into Africa, ...... « 

201 Second Punic war closed, .... . « 

Commencement of the third Punic war, ... « 

Disti-essing siege of Carthage, .... - 37 

146 Decree of the Roman Senate, fall and ruin of Caithage, - - '« 
The Romans distribute the spoils of Carthage to all the nations who claim 

their own, ..-.-. « 

They conquer Greece, Egj-pt, the west of Asia, and of Europe, - " 

Ci^il war of Cesar and Pompey, ... - 38 

47 Triumph of Cesar, defeat, flight and death of Pompey, - - " 

Fatal efftcts of corrupt ambition, .... a 

Fall of Cato, of Roman liberty, and of Cesar, - . . 30 

Fresh civil wars at Rome, ' - - . « 

Fall of Brutus and Cassius— Anthony and Tully, - - .a 

27 Augustus Cesar becomes emperor, and gives peace to the world, - « 

CHAP. X. 

Advent of the Jiliessiah — his life and doctrines, death and resurrection — 
prophecy Jipon Jernsalem — destruction of Jerusalem — dispersion of the 
Jeivs — division of the Roman empire — rise of the papal po-wer. 
A. D. 

The whole system of prophecy fulfilled in the advent of the Messiah, - 39 

His benevolent example, instructions and doctrines, - - 40 

His sufferings, death, resurrection and ascension, - • - 41 

His prophecy upon Jerusalem, .... « 

His commission of Saul of Tarsus, his reproof of Pharisaical hypocrisy, " 

Judgments upon the Jews, and Jerusalem, - - - 42 

70 Then: overthrow and ruin, ..... <« 

637 The Romans in Palestine subdued by the Saracens, - " . . " 
The Jews which remained, again distressed, and the whole nation in their dis- 
persion preparing to return to Palestine, where they will be born by the spirit 

of Christ into the faith of the gospel, .... « 

The true church of Christ, his peculiar care, ... 43 

Hertriimiphsin the midst of persecutions, - . - " 

Her deep humility under the barbarians and popes, - - " 
420 Rise of the Franks, or French ; their connection with the papacy— Character 

and title of the pope, - .... 45 

His means of revenue from indulgencies and purgatory, - " 

CHAP XI. 

Kingdom of Charlemagne— of Mahomet — of the Turks— fall of the 
Roman empire at Co7istantinople. 

A.D. 

800 Charlemagne king of the Franks, and emperor of the West. - 46 

T095 Peter the hernut jireaches the first crusade, or holy war— Character of this war, 

and of the nations engaged in it. - - - . - " 

fi06 Rise of Mahomet, - - - - ' " "^^ 

■^ His character, religion, bible or koran, and conquests, - - 45 

M50 Rise of the Turks and conqests—Remarlis. . . - 48 



CONTENTS. 30O 

APPEJ^DIX TO PART FIRST. 

PERSIA. 

B. C. Page 

536 Founded by Cyrus, revolutions considered, - . - - 50 

A. D. 1300 Jenghis Khan founds the Mogul's empire, c. . . « 

1399 Tamerlane confirms this power, . , - . « 
1732 Kouli Klian subverts it, .....«' 

1735 And in Hindostaii— Remarks ■ - . . 51 

CHINA. 

B.C. 

2207 Founded by prince Yao or Yu— their chai-acter, - - - 51 

A. D. 1635 i'aruirs invade China, breakover their wall and subdue it, - " 

Population, government, &c. ----- 52 

1586 China visited by the Portuguese, - - . . »« 

169X The pope sends missionararies to China, ... - « 

1742 They are expelled, ..... « 

1792 The English send an embassy to China, .... <t 

HINDOSTAN. 

A.D. 

1497 The Portuguese first discover Hindostan, ... «' 

1506 i'hey build the city of Goa, - - - - - , « 

1591 Visited by the Enghsh, ..... « 

1600 rhey forin their first East India company, . - . « 

1698 I'hey form their second, - - - . . « 

1700 They renew their first charter, and proceed to establish their government, " 

1595 The dutch commence their India trade, . . . . « 

1612 The Danes commence their India trade, - - - « 

1738 Causes of the successful settlements in Hindostan, - - « 

1763 The French cede Pondicherry to the Englisli, - . . 54 
Character of the religion of India, and the successful efforts of christian mis- 
sionaries. -------.." 

TARTARY. 

Ancient name and character of this country, . . - . 54 

Thtir mode of warfare, - - - - • - - 55 

Their massacres— attachment to the horse, - . . . » 

The nursery of great conquerors, ----.«• 5^ 

Character of the Russian war of 1812-13— Remarks. - - - « 

JKGYPT. 

B.C. 

2183 This kingdom was founded, .... 5g 

Her soil and character, 

600 Subdtxcd bv ^ebuc^ladnezzar, ... - 57 
A. D. Again by Alexander 333 before Christ, 
31 It fell under the dominion of the Romans, 
625 Was subdued by the Saracens, 
1525 Conquered by the Turks, ... 
1799 Overran by the French, 
1801 Conquered bv the English, 

1803 Cedt^d by the English back to the Turks - - - . « 

Character of the Egyptians, and government, - • - 58 to 61 

DENMARK. 

A.D. 

704 Gror mo founded this kingdom, - - • ~ 61 

Danes invade England from time to time, - • - *' 

887 Possess England, ..---- « 

880 Expelled by Alfred, - - - - - - « 

995 They render England tributary, . - - - 62 

D02 Renew tlie tribute, ..--•- u 

.'412 Conquer Norway, . . « • ■ ti 

Histery of Denmark continued. ... - ts 



384 CONTENTS. 

GREECE CONTINUED. 

B. C. Pagt 

2000 Greece first settled by Ion, son of Japhet, eldest son of Noah - - 63 

1500 Li^^tters introduced fiom Egypt, .---.- « 

1200 Character of tha Greeks at the time of the Argonauts. ... 64 

900 Their character at the time of the Trojan war, - - - - « 

700 Which gave rise to Homer, and afterwards to the Olympic games, . . « 

450 Peloponesian war, and character of Greece, continued, - - " 

With the invasions of Darius, and of Xerxes, .... « 

Character and governments of Lycurgiis and Solon, - - . 65 

300 Declinr of Greece, to the reign of Philip and Alexander ; when she fell under 

the rod of a despor. --..-.- 66 

150 And became a Roman province, ...--. 67 
A, D. 330 Greece became the seat of Roman government, under the emperor of Con- 

stantine.— Remarks, -....-- « 
450 Greece, under the Roman capital, until the conquest of the Turks, where it 

now remains, .-...-.. '• 

ROME CONTINUED. 

B.C. 

700 The city of Hoiae founded by Romulus, its government by a king and senate^ §8 



F^RT SECOJSTD. 

FROM THE REVOLUTION OF THE WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE, 
410j TO THE YEAR 1818, OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA. 

CHAP. I. 

ff evolution of the tvestern Rojnan empire — character of the Barbarians — 
laws of division, and tenure of their spoil — character of the Roman re- 
ligio7i — religion of the Barbarians — character of the dark ages — origin 
of the feudal system. 
A. n 

410 Character of the Romans— of the Barbarians, . - - 74 

450 Th'ir ravages m the Roman t^mpire, .... 75 

Religion of the Romans and Barbarians, - - - - 76 

486 Genius of their govei-nment under Clovis— Feudal system. - 77 

CHAP. II. 

Cloi^ia— character of his reign — distracted state of the Franks — mayors 
of the palace — reigns of Pepm — Charles Martel—Leovegild — ecclesi- 
astical poxver — Mahomet — Saracens — situation of Spain. 
A.D. 

Phai-amond— Clovis, and the religion of the Franks ; his victory and conquest 

of the Visigoths, .-.-.. 78 

511 Death of Cloi'^ls—his successors and feuds, ... « 

656 Character of P.^pin, mayor of tlie palace. ... 79 

73.' Charles "lartrl his successor, .... « 

752 Pepin his successor, -.--.- « 

Visigoths in Spain— Disti'esses in Spain, - . - 80 

Remarks, --.-.-« 8i 

CHAP. III. 

Central affairs of Italy—rise of popery— Pepin supports tlie pope — state 



CONTENTS. 385 

of Britain — origin of the Anglo-Saxons — JVittenagemot, or elective 
government 

A. D. Pasje 

Italy under the Lombards, ... .... 81 

Rise of the papal power, -•--.- '« 

752 Pope Zachary, and Pepin king of the Franks, - - - - 82 

Stnigglesof Italy— Pope bt'phcn, and Pepin, .... •< 

768 O -ath of Pepin— his successor, ...... 83 

Britain, under tlic Romans, ant? aftei- their departure, ... " 

450 Anglo-Saxons, their conquest of Britain, thtir Heptarchy, - - - 85 

CHAP. III. CONTINUED. 



Government maimers and customs of the heptarchy, down to Egbert, and to * 

827 his successor, - - - . - - - . 85 

838 Alfred the great— character and government of Alfred, . - 87 

001 His death, - ...... 88 

771 Rise of Charlemagne— Charles supports pope Adrian T, . - « 
774 Puts an end to the kingdom of the Lombards, in Italy, and is crowned emperor 

of the West. - - - - -89 



CHAP. IV. 



France and the church, through the reign of Charlemagne and his suc- 
cessors, to the settlement of Rollo the JVorman, 
A.D. 

The connection between the papal and French monarchies, - . 89 

800 Imperial coronation of Charles, - ... . . go 

802 Respect paid to Charles by the powi rs of the east, ... a 

814 Character of Charl?s— his death, and the extent of his empire— Lewis his son 
and succes<!or— his government and feuds— is deposed by pop.- Gregory IV. 
for taking up arras against his rebellious sons, and his sou Lotliario succeeds 
to the throne, ■"--,---92 

834 Lewis restored, and Lothario made king of Italy— Lewis dies— the feuds con. 
tiuue, and the Saracens invade Italy ; the Normans ravage France, and burn 
Paris ; and amidst all these distresses, the clergy assume the disposal of 
crowns. .- - - - . .« 

Rollo the Norman chief, begins his ravages m France, - - 03 

911 Man-iesthe daughter of Charles the simple, and settles in Nustra, which be- 

comes the province of Normandy, ... g^ 

The distractions of Germany, keep pace with the feuds of France, under the 

912 successors of Charlemagne, until they are succeeded by the emperor Conrad L " 

CHAP. V. 

Germany from the election of Conrad T. -mth Italy and the churchy doxon 

to the year 1004. 
A. D. 

91' The Huns invade Germany, and force a peac^, ■ - 94 

920 Conrad succeeded by H^nry I. of Saxony— Electors of the Germanic body- 
Henry, by his swoi-d, gives peace to Germany, " - 95 

936 Attempts the conquest of Italy, imd dies, - . - 96 

937 The race of Charlemagne becomes extinct in France, - . u 
Otho I. son of Henry I. supports witli dignity, the impeiial throne of Germany, 

948 propagates cliristianity even into Denmark, and gives law to Italy, - a 

962 Is crowned king of the Romans, ... « 

Otho chastises the perfidy of pope John XII. - - , a 
The fends of Italy, compel Otho to support a succession of popes— he contracts 
970 an alliance between his son, Otho II. and a princess of the Greek empire, at 

Constantinople. . - - , . ij- 



386 CONTENTS. 

A. D. Pagt- 

973 Ollio the great dies, and leaves his thi-one to his son, Otlio II.— He like liis 
father is valiant in aims ; but amidst the feuds of Italy, harassed by the 
Saracens, - - - - • 57 

983 Dies and is succetdtd by his son, Otho III. - - . »» 

1000 Otho III. created Bolislans king of Poland, - - - " 

1002 TJie Saracens enter Italy, besiege Rome, and are expelled by Otho, who dies 

of poison, and is succeeded by Henry II. - - - " 

1004 Henrv. harrassed by feuds, attempts to retire ; but is prevented by the com- 
joands of theabbott of St. Val, continues to reign with successful prosperity 
1024 until his deaili, and is succeed«l by Conrad II. - - - 98 

CHAP. YL 



* England and France, from the rise of Edward I. to the JVortnan con- 
quest, 1-066. 
A. D. 
901 Edward I. ascends the throne of his father Alfred, and maintains the Saxon 

liberties thi-ough a successful reign, - - - 9S 

925 Dies and is siscceedtdby Athelstan, who establishes Sitheric, the Danish chief, 
in Northumberland, with his sister in marriage, which produces a war with 
Scotland, ..---.« 
941 Athelstan encourages commerce— dies and is succeeded by his brother Edmond ; 
who is assassinated, and succeeded by his brother Eddred ; who is a fiiend 
tomonasticiifc, through his rtign, . . . « 

955 Dies and is succeeded by Edwy, the son of Edmond, who suffers great persecu- 
tions from the clergy, is divorced from his queen, dethroned, and his brother 
Edgar succeeds him, at thirteen years of age, . . gp 

Edgar fiivors Monkery, and is saintetl, - - - " 

975 Dies, and is succeeded by his son Edw ard, who was murdered in three yeai-s, " 

978 And succeeded by Ethelred, who orders a general massacre of all the Danes 
in England which occasions his expulsion, by Swein, king of Denmark, and 
his persecution to his death, .... '^ 

1015 He is succeeded by his son, Edmond Ironside, - - . 100 
1017 Who dies, and leaves the throne to Canute the Dane, - - 101 

996 The feuds of France, leaves open the way for Hugh, duke of France, to seize 
on the crown, and confer it to his son Robert, who fell under the same 
ecclesiastical despotism, of Ed«y of England. . . <» 

1031 Dies, and leaves his crown to his son, Henry I. who flies to Nonnandy for suc- 
cor, and by his sword, enters France, and recovers his crown, - " 
Robert, duke of Normandy, dies on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, atid leaves his 

1016 throne to his natural son William, then a minor, who is crowned in the 
midst of strife, - - - - - 102 

Canute sends Edwin, and Edward, sons of Edmond Ironside, into Sweden, to 

be despatchetl — they are preserved in Hungary, - - " 

Canute at the same time gives tranquillity to England, by manning Emma, 

their mother, and queen of Etlielred, . . . <* 

Canute sulidues Sweden, and Norway, humbles Malcolm king of Scotland, 

1035 dies and leaves his throne to his son Harold barefoot, who is succeeded by 

Edward, son of Ethelred, who dies and leaves bis throne to Harold II. who 

is invad. d bv his brother Tosti, and next by William, duke of Normandy, 

1065 who usurps "the throne, and establishes the feudal system, - - 103 

CHAP. vir. 



Spain and the church, -with Germany and Italy, through the reign oj 

Henry IV. to the year 1099. 
A. d: 

768 Spain, the Saracens, and Greek empire from 768. - - 104 

Portugtd under the Arabs— one general scene of distress, - . « 
Constantinople, and the arts and sciences, and the Greek church, all in the 

midst of corruption— R^^lKarks, - - - - 105 

Feuds of Italy down to 1073 - . - , 106 



CONTENTS. 387 

A.D. Page 
Henry IV. emperor of Germany, is persecuted by pope Grcgoi^ VII. and 

exconinmnicaied. - . - - - 107 

Gregory causes Rodolph, duke of Suabia, to be elected emperor, - " 
Henry, by a council, deposes Gregory, taul by his s\\ord, humbles Rodolph, 

and ail 'Germany and Italy are involved in the quarrel. - - 108 

CHAP. VIII. 

The church— first cinisade — chivalry, and the monastic rage. 

A.D. 

1095 Remarks— First Crusade, general disasters, ... log 
Amount of the christian forces in Asia, - - - 110 
Conquest of Jerusalem, - - - - - " 
Goilfrey King of France, made king of Jerusalem, - - '• 
Guelphs and Ghibelines, become conspicuous in the subsequent feuds of Eu- 
rope — Remarks, - - - - -111 

Chivalry— its character, .... " 

Monastic life— its character— Remarks, - - - 112 

CHAP. IX. 

England through the reign of William I. William II. Henry I— Ger- 
many and France to the second crusade. 
\.D. 

\'\^illiam I. visits Normandy, returns to quell a rebellion— sulxlues the British 112 
spirit, and establishes tlie French language, quells a rebellion in Normaridy, 
1087 ravages France, and die«, leaving the crown of England to his son, William 

II. - - - - - - 113 

1096 William II. jjursues the policy of his father, purchases Normandy of liis 

brother Robert ; and sets the pope, Urban II, at defiance, - " 

1100 Is killed on a hunting match in Lis xiew park, - - " 

Henry I. his brother succeeds to the throne, - - . «' 

Seizes his brother Robert in Normandy, and imprisons him in England 28 
years, where he dies. - -' - - - 114 

1135 Causes his English subjects to acknowletlge Henry Plantagenet, his grandson, 

then a minor, his heir, and dies, ... « 

Despotism, and the reign of terror, lays the foundation for the future strug- 
gles of privilege and prerogative, ... « 

New struggles arise in Gennany and Italy under Lothario, and Itis successor, 

Conrad III.— Anecdote of the castle of Weinburg— New crusades, - 115 

1 ! 52 Conrad dies, and is succeeded by Frederic Barbarossa, - - " 

1 300 persons burnt in the church of Vitri, by order of Lewis VII. king of 
France, who favors St. Bernard in the stcond crusade, to atone for this 
crime, . - . - - 116 

Amount of the army of the crusade, and events, - - " 

CHAP. X. 

Engkaul during the reign of Stephen — Henry II. — the church, tvith a con- 
tinuation of the second crusade — Germany and the third crusade. 
A. D. 

1 135 Stepljen, count of Boulogne seizes the throne— weakens the crown by indul- 
ging the barons in buikling castles— Da>nd, king of Scots, and Matilda wage 
>v ar in seppori of Henry H. the riglilful heir, whicli is settled b\ compro- 
)nisc—Th( SI* civil wars produce a distressing faminein England, - 117 

Henry II. upon the death of Stephen, succetds to the throne, and humbles 
Lewis VIT. king of France, by the first independent army, - " 

3 IGl Ap|»()ints Thoiuas A. Recket, primate of England, to correct the abuses of the 

ol'.urch— R.cktt'scliaracter, - ... - 118 

1162 Open war between Henry and Becket, ... " 

Constitution of Clai-endon, - - - - - 119 

Flight of B cket. his r.'turn, triumph and death, - ■ 120 

Superstitions of Beckets's tomb. ----•' 



S8S CONTENTS, 

A. D. Page 

Henry conquers Ireland, and repairs to Normandy to settle his peace with the 

the pope's legate, and clears himself by oath from the deatli o- Becktt, 1:^0 

Prince Htnry, his son, demands a share in tlie government— Ekiior his queen, 
and Lfcwis'VlI. king of France, support the demand— Henry does penance 
at the tomb of Becket— obtains by his generals a victory over tlie Scots, and 
takes their king, - - - - - -121 

1183 Lewis VII. king of France, makes apilgiimage to Becket'stcmb, dies, and 

Philip 11. succettls to the throne, . . . . 't 

1189 Hem7 idt sin Normai.dj—In.provements of Henry, - - " 

AiexandtT HI. brings Prtutiic II. enipei'or of Germany, to kiss his feet, &c. 122 
Victor HI. and Alcxiuidcr HI. rival popes, - - - " 

1159 Milan destroyed amidst these rival fends, ... »* 

Origin of the hovise of Brunsw ick . . - - " 

1181 baladin, caliph of Egypt, recovers Palestine, wliich occasions another crusade 
under Frederic Barbarossa, who dies in Asia Minor, and is succeeded by 
his son Htniy VI. - - - - - - 123 

1191 Phihp I. of France, and Richard I. of England, engage in this new crusade, 

and take their route to Palestine bywattr, , . . « 

CHAP XL 

The third crusade continued — Eichard, king of England, a captive in 
Germany^— John successor to liichard— Magna Charta. 

A. D. 

They besiege and take Ptoleipais, ' - ., - - - 123 

Charactc rs of Richard and Philip, ■ ' -„ . . " 

1192 Richi.rd guLns tiie famous battle of Ascalon, and the conquest of that city— 

The couJtderates, in sight of Jtrusalem, abandon the enterprize, and 
return homi, - - - - - -124 

1193 Richuru is seized in Austria,and sold to tlie empei'or of Germany, impi-isoned, 

and ransomed by his subjects tor 300.000/. sterling, - - " 

1199 Is wotiiidi d at the siege of the castle of Vidonicr and dies, John, his brother, 

succeeds to the thrune - . - . . 125 

1205 Phihp of Fraj.ee sizts on all the English possessions in Normandy, - " 
Jolui falls under a p^pal interdict, ai.d resigns his crown to the pope, together 

with an annual tribute of 1000 marks— John and Otho IV. form the first 
Ger.;.an c.'ji.litloii against France, . - - - " 

1215 John graais CO the barons. Magna Charta, ... 126 

Henr; VI ciupvrorof Geriuany. institutes three crusades with the price of 
Riciuud's ransom, aiid dies in the midst of his wars, in Italy, by poison 
from his queen, -..,.-" 

CHAP. XII. 

Crusade against Comttantinople — Germany — France, and a ne.iv crusade 

"—England and France — borough elections in Efigland. 
A.D. 

120 J Baldwin, ' arl of Fland<'rs, heads a new crusade. ... 128 

Takes Constantinople, is proclaimed emperor of the Greeks, - '' 

1206 Becomes unfortunate, is d*f.attd .nnd slain, - - - " 
1215 The feuds of Gerjnany closed, at the coronation of the emperor Frederic II. " 

Ail Europe engages in th new ci'Usade, under Honorions III. — Cardinal Al- 
bano made g neral in chief, ...--" 

1221 B^eomts unfortunate, and the confederates abandon the war by a truce, " 

NeAv f. uds in Germany compel Frederic II to engage in another cnisade 
under Gr goi-y IX —Frederic is more successful in the east than anj' of the 
pn ci ding champions, - - - - - " 

1229 Concludes a truce, and returns home, and is involved in new feuds with the 

pope, .-...--' 

las'"! The ciril wars rage until, his d^ath, - . - 129 

1273 An interregjium siiccf eds, until the election of Rodolph, count ofhapsburg; 
the Hanseatic league is formed during this inteiTegnum. 

121G Phi\ip of France engages in the support of the civil wars in England against 

Jolm, and dies, . . . . • ^^ 

1217 H. nry III. son of John, gives union and peace to England, 

1253 Henry attempts to recover the English possessions i» France, . J-'<> 



13.^ 



135 



CONTENTS. Ool:^ 

A.D. , I'age 

1257 Richard, carl of Cornwall, attempts to quiet the feuds of Clennany, sDends 

Im vasiestiiU, fails, and" returns poor to Englaisd— 1 he feuds in i.i.gland 
open the wa> for the earl ol Leicester to establish a new parliaineni, with 
borough ckctions, .... 131 

Remarks on the parliament. - - - " 

CHAP. XIII. 

England— Franccy and a new crusade %mder Lewis VIII— Spain from 
10U7 to iu9r, thence to 1303 — some symptoms of order. 

A. D. 

1265 Henry recovers his throne, and J4eicester is slain, - • ^^^■ 

1270 FriiiCt Edward engages in the holy war with success, 

1271 Returns and succeeds Iiis fatlier upon liis dt-ath, ' - - 132 
Philip of France leaves his throne to Lewis VII. 

1226 Who in liis turn leaves it to Lewis IX. a minor, 

1235 Lewis comes to the tlirone, and engages in the holy wars, with his queen, three 

brothers, and all the knights ot France, 

1248 Lands in Egypt, and takes the city of Damietta, 

1249 Is defeated and taken in the fatal battle of Massouro, is ransomed by treaty, 

and 1000 pieces of gold, with all tlie captives, and retires to Palestine for 
foiu' years, - - 

1258 Returns to France to settle the mobs of the kingdom. 
Is created sole umpire in the feuds of England, 

1264 Enters upon a crusade against the infidels of Africa, loses hii eldest son with 
1271 the plague, dies himself, and his second son leads back his army to France, 

Character of Lewis, . . . - 

1073 Spain, and the reign of Knight-errantry, from 1073 to the sequestration of 
1147 Portugal, mider Don Henriquez, . . - 

Spain continued, her conflicts with the Moors, - - ^ 

1212 Buttle of the Black moiuitains, - - - 136 

1236 Hise of Ferdinand III. or St. Ferdinand— his conquests and death, " 
1252 Alphonso the wise succeeds— liis reign and death, - - " 
1303 Saiicho his son succeeds— his tranquil reign and death, - - " 

Ferdinand IV. his son succeeds— his turbulent reign and extraordiiiary death, 136 
Remarks upon chivalry and the crusades, - - - »' 

CHAP. XIV. 

EnglandyUnder Edward I. — a fairs of Scotland — Edward II. 

A. D. 

1274 Edward I. succeeds his father, . - . 137 

Sulxlues Wales, and destroys their bards, - - '■ 

1291 Subdues Scotland by stratagem, - - • - ' I'^O 

1295 Borough elections established in the house of commons, in England, " 

Remarks on govci-nment, - - - . .i 

"296 Conquest of Scotland, by Edward I. . " " '' 

He compels the clergy to furnish supplies, - - . '< 

Is obliged to abandon his exactions, and add one more article to the great char- 
ter to restore tranquillity, - - - - '* 
Edward's ambitious plans against France, o])ens the way for a rebellion in 
Scotland— the Scots expel the EnglisJi in tlieii- turn— are agoin subdued by 
Edw ard and William Wallace, theiS- chief, taken and executed, - '■ 
j305 Rebellion again renewed, under Robert Bruce, and the English again expel- 
led, - - - - - 3iO 

1307 Edward enters Scotland in tiiuniph — dies, and leaves his throne to his son, 

Edward II. - - - - 14; 

Who abandons the enterprise of his father, - ^ - •• 

1308 And the Scuts restore their power, under Robert; Bruce, w ho in^iides England ; 

which rouses Ed^v^rd II. to the conquest of ScotLuid, - '• 

?314 The English are def( ated, and flee : and the Scots under Robert Bruce, ag.iin 

enter England, and invade Ireland, - - . •- 

1323 Force a peace, and secure their liberties, 
1327 Civil wars of England, hci-e follow to thedeaih of Edw^ff. 



•'JO CONTENTS- 

CHAP. xy. 

Germany and Switzerland— Italy — France — Knights Templam. 
A. D. Page 

1292 Rodolph of Hapsbui-g, and the rise of the house of Austria, - 142 

1291 Death of Rudolph, - - . . t* 

1292 rhe succession of Adolphusof Nassfui, and Albert, duke of Austria, " 
1298 1 riun.ph of Albtn, at the battle of Rosendtl, and his eoionation, - '* 
1308 Revolution and liberties of Switzerland, - - « 

Death of Albert, and succession of Henry VII, - ' lAw 

Affairs ot Italy, .... a 

1313 Dcatli of Henry VII, - - . , « 
Knights ol the Teutonic order, purchase Dantzic, &c. - " 
France, during these struggles, had been involved in war, under Philip III. 

on account of the crown of Sicily, - - - 144 

1282 Massacre of the Sicilian Vespers, - . - t« 

1285 Philip III. attempts the recovei-y of Sicily— fails and dies. His son Philip IV. 

succeeds to the throne of France— institutes pai-liainents upon the plan of 

Edward I, of England, - . . « 

1303 Quarrels with the pope and ck rgy— bums the pope's bull— summons his first 

parliament, who support the king, - - . u 

Boniface dies of chargrin— Benedict IX, succeeds— is poisoned for his good 

deeds, and leaves his chair to Clement V. a Frenchman, - 145 

1310 Philip, the pope and states of Europe, persecute and destroy the Knights 
1312 leniplars, - . . ^ . ^ « 

1314 Phjiip dies, and is succeeded by his son, Lewis X, • . « 
1316 Who dies after a short, but cruel and avaiicious reign, - " 

CHAP. XVI. 

France and the Salic la-w — England and Scotland— England and France , 

battle of Cressy. 
A, D. 

1^28 The origin of the Salic law examined— succession of Philip de Valois, 146 

1330 Edvvai-d III. puiiishes the mal-adniinisuation of earl Mortimer and the queen 

mother, and restores tranquillity, - - - 147 

1332 Raises Edw ard Baliol, from a French prison, to tlie throne of Scotland, " 

1333 He is expelled, and flies into England, - - . le 

1334 Edward, by tlie sword, again restores Baliol to his throne, and receives the 

submission of Scotlai.d. - . . « 

1335 The Scots again expt 1 Baliol, and Fi'ance suppoi'ts the insuiTection, - "' 

1338 Edward puts in his claims fo thf crown of France, opens his negociations in 

the Low Counti-ies, or Flanders, and invades France, » - 148 

1339 Edward is successful against the French at sea, . . « 

1340 He again invades France, with his allies in Flanders, and challenges Philip, 

which produces a truce, ... 149 

1343 This truce displays the talents of the countess of Mountfort in t>ie defence of 

the province of Brittany, ... (4 

■345 Edward by the assistance of his parliament, is enabled again to enter France — 

passage of the Sommc, and battle of Cressy~use of cannon, - 150 

CHAP. XVII. 

England and Scotland— general plague- — invasion of France by Edivard 
III- — battle of Poictiers — civilxvarsof France — peace and conditions. 
A. D. 

1346 Bruce, king of Scotland, at the instigation of Philip, king of France, enters 

England victorious, .... 151 

Edward invades France, to support his claim to the erown, and his qu*tn 
Philippa gains a battle over the Scots— takes David their king and all his 

court prisoners, • . . - " 

1347 Philippa ioins Edward in France, and they take Calais, - " 

1348 Edward settles a peace, and returns to England, - - " 
1350 Character of the English Court, and order of the garter, - " 

Genei-al plague throughout the Tiorld ; PJiilip VI. dies, - - i52 



CONTENTS. S91 

Page. 

Civil war in France under Charles the bad - - - i52 

Edward renews the war in this distress, and the Prince of Wales gains the bat- 
tle of Poictiers, takes John, king of Fraucs., prisoner, and conveys him under 
a truce, with respectful dignity, into England - - " 

Charles attempts to rule amidst the distractions of the civil wars and massacres 
under Marcel, provost of Paris— the poor against the rich fill France with 
wretchedness, until the death of Marcel enables the dauphin to restore oi-der 
again. - - - - - 152 

Edw ard the black prince again enters France, and takes advantage of these 
distresses, to make a favorable peace, restores John to his throne, - " 

Who again returns to England to revise the treaty, and dies, - *' 



CHAP. XVIIL 



Particular remarks — affairs of France and Spain — Black Prince renews 

the loar with France — battle of champions — Germany and Italy. 
A. D. 

Remarks on the last chapter, .... - 154 

Accession of Charles V.— his difRculties, - - - " 

Charles lends his aid to quitt the civil wars of Spain, ... 155 

Du Guesclin and pope lunocent VI. contend, and Innoctnt yields to his de- 
mands. - - - - • " 
Edward enters Spain with 100,000 men, gains the battle of Najara, on the Ebro, 
and restores Peter I. to his throne, - - - ** 

1376 Edward's affairs decline in France, and with his death the English lose nearly 

all their possessions in Franc;.-, .... 156 

1377 Edward III. dies in England, - - - - " 
The civil wars continue to rage in Germany, thirty competitors appear to de- 
cide the controversy between Frederick, duke of Bavaria, and Ltwis, duke of 
Austria ; every man falls into the coniiict, the armies engage, and Lewis is 
triumphant, - - - . « 

Switzerland secures her liberty at tlie same time, and the council of Frankfort 
check the insolence of the popes. The struggles continue until the diet of Nu- 
remburg, by their golden bull, quiet the fcuds of the imperial elections, - 157 



CHAP. XIX, 



Affairs of England binder Richard II. and Henry IV. — Scotland — Ger- 

many and the states of Italy — council of Constance. 
A.D. 

Remai-ks— accession of Richard II.— state of his treasury, - - 158 

The poll tax causes an insurnction under Wat Tyler, - - . 159 

Richard lays the storm, upon the death of Tyler, by abolishing feudal vassalage 
in England, - - - - . « 

1399 Richard dies, and is succeeded by the duke of Lancaster, as Henry IV. by a 

bloody usurpation, - - - - . . « 

1400 He persecutes Wickhff and his followers, - - . « 
1403 This kindles a eiril war, which is quelled with severity, - - leo 
1393 The papal contests between Urban VI. and Clanent III. very severe in Italy 

and involve the states of Germany, and the kingdom of Naples, « 

1388 Margartt, queen of Drnmark, seizes o« Sweden, - - s^ 

Wiiiceslaus, anperor of Gennany, dies — Frederick, duke of Brunswick, suc- 
1399 cetds— is murdered, and Robert, count palatine, of the Rhine, succeeds « 

John Huss, a disciple of WicklifF, appears in Bohemia, and throws the church 
into great confusion, and occasions the councils of Catalonia, Aquila, Pisa, 
Frankfort and Constance, - - . jgj 

141 ' Sigismund succeeds to the thi'one upon the death of Robert - . «« 



39£ CONTENTS. 

CHAV. XX. 

Affairs of Germany — of Englmid — of France. ■ 
A. D. Page. 

Remarks— the Council of Constance, • » - - 162 

•SigismuiKl the eiuperor repairs to Spain, to settle the napal feuds with Bene- 
dict XIII. ....... <■<• 

Martin V. Elected pope, - - - - " 

1436 Insurrections and murders in Boliemia, - - . '« 

1438 Sigismuiid leaves the imperial throne to Albert, duke of Austria, together with 

the croxMi of Bohemia, - - - . »' 

France distracted under Charles VI. - - . k 

1413 Kenry IV. of England dies in the midst of feuds, and leaves his tlironc to Henry 

V. who suppresses the Lollards, or follo\Aers of V^ ickliii, . . « 

1415 Henry invaiits France, and gains tlie battle of Agincourt, returns to England, 

and leaves Fiance torn ^vith feuds, ' - - - 163 

1420 Kenry returns to France, seizes the government, and marries the princess 

Catiiarine, - - - - - - -»' 

Henry dies, and leaves the tlu'one of France in the hands of his brother, duke 
of Bedfoi-d, as regent for his infiuit sou, Henry VI. — Charles VI. dies, and his 
son, Charles VII. is crowned at Poictitrs, - - - " 

Catharine matiies sir Owen Tudor, and bears the dukes of Richmond and 
Pembroke, .... . - 164 

1429 The duke of Bedford presses the affairs of Charles VII. and lays siege to the city 

ofOrleinis, - - . - . - u 

Affair of the maid of Orleans, - - - - 165 

1431 lier successes, misfortunes, capture and death, ... 166 

1435 Death of thed'ikeof Bedlbrd, - - - - " 

1453 Loss of all the English possessions in France, except Calais, . . " 

1439 Frederick III. succeeds to the throne of Germany, after the short reign of 

Albert, - - • - . ° . « 

1441 Visits thf council of Basil, - - - . " 

1452 Visits Italy — is cro^vned at Rome, and married, - - - 167 
I'he Torks take Constantinople — General remarks, - - »< 

CHAP. XXI. 

Recapitulation — civil -loars in England— of France — tvar in Flanders. 
A.D. 

Remarks, - - - - - 168 

1450 Richard, duke of York, and Henry VI. contend for the crown of England, " 

Fall of the duke of Gloucester and Suffolk, - . . u 

1458 Hejn-y VI. taken by Richard, in a fatal battle, and a general accommodation 

follows, - - - - . . a 

1459 Ci^^l war renewed— Richard flees to Ireland— returns to England, and falls in 

the battle of Wakefield. - - - - 169 

Edward IV. his son, appears with a strong force to support the claims in tight 
of his father, - - - - - 170 

1464 Is crowned at London, - - - - . u 
The action of Tow town, between Henry VI. and Margaret his queen, and 

Edward IV. commences the exttr;uiuating scene of ?io quarter, and drives 
Hf nry and Margaret into Scotland. Margaret collects an army in Scotland, 
advances into England, fights the battle of Hexham, is beaten, and escapes 
to France, - - . - . . a 

1465 Henry is taken and confined in the tower, - - . - " 

1470 Civil war continu^•s, and Henry VI. recovers his throne. Edward again recov- 

ers his cro%\-nand capital, after another battle of extermination and no 
quarter. - - - ... 171 

1471 Henry VI. dies, - - - - . « 
Edward in vailes France successfully, and quiets the feuds of England, by the 

death of the dukt of Clarence, - - . n 

1483 Dies, and leaves his throne to Edward V. at thirteen years of age, - " 
Richard duke of GlGUcestirii chosen regent, and usurjjs the throne, by his 

blo{<dy power. <is R'.ehard III. . . . « 

1484 Henry VIL defeats Richard in the battle of Bosworth, and recovers the crown 

to the trut' line, un-'r the new dyiiast) ( die house of Tudor, . - <« 

1453 Charles VII. king of France, at this time establishes a regular conscription in 

France. » - - » - r % 



CON TENTS. 393 

A. I). rage 

1461 Lewis XI. causes the death of his father, usurps tlie throne, and reigns in the 

midst of ftiids, civil wars and crutlty, - - 172 

1485 Dies a horrid death— his son Charles VIII. succeeds, - . - »» 



CHAP. XXII. 



A general viexv of Europe — league of Chamhray — commencemetit of the 

reformat. OIL. 
A.D. 

1491 Charles VIII. unites the duchy of Brittany to his croAra by njarriage, 173 

1464 Ferdinand and Isabella unite the crovn oi Castile and Arragon, in Spain, by 

a like maii-iafje, - - - - *' 

1 JS5 Henry VII. quiets the civil wars in England, by a marriage with the princess 

Elizabeth, .... « 

Maximilian quiets the feuds of Germany, by the court of the impeiial 
chamber, . - - . f* 

1 495 Charlt s VIII. lays the foundation of those coalitions which have preserved 

the balance of power in Europe, ... 174 

1498 lie dies— Lems XII. succetds to the throne, and recovers the province of 

Brittanv from Henry VII. - - . « 

J 508 The league of Cambray formed, by pope Julius II. to humble the state of 

Venice, ..... 175 

Character of that state, . - - - " 

Julius arms the confederacy against Lewis XII. with the aid of Henrj' VIII. 
of England, - - - - . « 

1513 Lewis is expelled from Italy, and Heni^ VIII. in coalition with Maximihan, 
invade France on the side of Flanders, which forms the first coalition of 
England and Germanj in Flanders, . . w 

Lewis dies, and is succeeded by Francis I. - - . « 

1516 Ferdinand king of Spain, dii s, and is succeeded by Charles V. - 176 

1517 Martin Luther fills up the bright constellation of Europe, and opens the way 

for the spread of the Gospel. » - - »* 

CHAP. XXIII. 



General state of society ^ cornmerce, navigation a^id the arts in Europe 
foreign adventures and discoveries— reformation continued. 

A. D. 

1139 Alphonso Henriqufz, sequesters tht Kingdom of Portugal, 

1498 His successors become nuAngators and adventurers, until Emmanual I. sends a 
fleet under Vasco de Gania. and discovers Hindostan— the \ ojage successful, 

1500 Emmanual sends a st^cond fleet to India, tliey discover Brazil in South Amer- 
ica, and repair to India, .... 

1513 This voyage secures to the Portuguese the commerce of India. 

1520 All the maritime statts of Europe, engage in this connnerce, Martin Luther 
continues his successful labors, in publishing the gospel, in defiance of the 
diet of Worms, .... 

Charles V. assembles the diet of Spires, to suppi*ess the doctrines of I.uther 
this occasions a general protest against theij" dt crees, gives to the refor- 
mers the name of protestants, and leads to thf confession of Augsburg, by 
Mela?ictbo!i. which served as a rallying point for the reformers. 

1524 The strife for supremacy, between Francis Land Charles V. upon the thea- 
tre of Italy, tenninates in the defeat and captui-e of Francis, at the siege of 
Pavia, - 

Henry VITI. obtains the title of defender of the faith, from the pope ; but by 
an opt 11 quarrel, severs the kintrdom of England from th" holy see, estab- 
lishes the episcopal chin-ch, and dissolves all monastic itstitutions in Eng- 
land, - - - - . - 

H47 Henry becomes vei-y fickle and cruel, in his marriage relations; discloses the 
principles of bis "religfious faith, and dies a catholic, 



n^ 



394 CONTENTS. 

CHAP. XXIV. 

Affairs of Germany — of England — France — Massacre of St. JBartholo- 

mew. 

A. D. Page 

Tlie union of the protestants under the confession of Augsburg, and league of 

Smalkalde, supports their cause against the direct attacks of the papal 

power, and the insidious attacks of the interium of Clmrles V. of Spain, 180 

1546 Luttier dus in the niidst ol his successful labors, - - " 

1552 Prince Maiirice supi^orts the protestant cause in Germany, - " 

1547 During the minority ot Edward VI. son and successor of Henry VIII. a war 

commences between England and Scotland, which confirms the reforma- 

lion ni England as it now stands, ... \^i 

1553 Edward VI. dies And latly Jane Gray succeeds, expressly against the will of 

Henry VIII. and spils the best blood of the nation, and brings Mai7 to the 
throne, . - . . <e 

1554 She reigns in bloody persecution against the Protestants five years, and by 

her death maivcs way for the illustrious reign of Elizabeth, - " 

Upon the accession of Mary, Charles V. of Spain leaves his throne to his son, 
Philip II. and retires to private life, and Philip marries queen Mary. " 

1559 The refonnatiou supported universally by Elizabeth, and confirmed in Eng- 
land and Scotland, - - - - 182 

1565 Mary queen of Scots, manies Francis II. of France, and upon his death 
returns to Scotland, where she attempts to suppress the reformation ; but 
fails, marries lord Darntly, by whom she has one son, James VI. - " 

1568 Upon the death of her husband, compellrtl to flee into England to her sister 

Elizab?th for succour, whei'e she languishes in prison, - 183 

1572 Charles IX. of France, who succeeded Francis II. causes the massacre of St. 

Bartholomew, .... « 

1574 Charles IX. dies of a horrid disease, - - - " 

1587 Mary, queen of Scots, tried, condemned anjJ executed, - " 



CHAP. XXV, 



Affairs of the reformation generally — Spanish Armada — Remarks. 
A. D. 

1557 The emperor Ferdinand succeeds Charles V. - - i: 

1561 And calls the council of Trent, to heal the feuds of the church, - ' 

}564 Maximilian IL siiccceeds upon the death of Ferdinand, - ' 

1588 Philip II. invades England by his invincible Armada, which is wholly lost and 

destroyed, .... ' 

1589 Henry III. of France, supports the Protestants— is assassinated by a Domican 

Friar, and is succ-ided by Henry IV. wlio sup^wrts the ProtL-stants, 1 

1598 And publishes the edict of Nanlz, and settles a peace with Philip II. king 

of Spain, .... ' 

1599 Pliilip II. dies and is succeeded by Philip III. - - ' 
1609 Philip III. closes the war in Holland by a truce of twelve years, and expels the 

Moors from Spain, - ' - - - ' 

1601 Upon the death of Philip II. dies queen Elizabeth, and is succeeded by James 

VI. of Scotland, son of Mary, and first king of Great-Britain, as James I. 
2610 Heni7 IV. forms the plan of an European Republic, witli France at its head, 

and is assassinated by a Monk. — Lewis XIII. succeeds to the throne, 1 

1 621 Distressing scenes, between the evangelical vmion, and the Catholic League, 

which rage through the reign of Philip HI. - - ' 

1635 And through the reign of Lewis XIII. - - - ' 

'/48 Then under Lewis XIV. to the iieace of Westi)halia, wJien the I^nion tri- 
umphs over The League. • • - • ' 



CONTENTS. 595 

CHAP. XXVI. 

Reformation continued — Great-Britain under Jamea I. — under Charles I. 

A, D. rage. 

1605 James I. the first of the House of Stewart, gives offence to the Puritans ainl 
Catholics, wliich occasions the gunpowder plot, so called, which is detected 
and punished, - - - - - 187 

1625 James kindles a fire in the church by his violent religious measures, and by his 
l)roposrtl match for his son Charles, which opens the controversy of privilege 
and prerogative, which Charles at his accession attempts to quiet by dissolv- 
ing his parliament, - - - - 189 

1530 This quarrel increased by the violence of the duke of Buckingham, and arch- 
bishop Laud, - - - - - " 

1641 And produces a civil war, which brings to the block the Earl of Strafford, 19) 

1644 Next Arch-Bishop Laud, " 

1649 Then the execution of the king, and the triumph of the Commonwealth '* 

CHAP. XXVII. 

Great-Britain under Oliver Cromwell — Charles II. — Frarrce under 
Lewis XIV. 

A. D. 

1560 Character of the Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell— Character of Ricli- 
ard Cromwell at the accession of Charles IL— Character of Charles IL liis 
severity toward the reformation in Scotland is checked by the Poi)ish plot, 192 

1676 Charles becomes tributary to Lewis XIV. to become independent of his refrac- 

toi-y parliament, ...... i9;^ 

1683 His despotic sway occasions the Rye-house plot, to restore the Commonwealth, 

which occasions the borough elections, - - - " 

1685 Charles dies a Catholic — James II. duke of York, and brother to Charles, suc- 
ceeds—Remarks, - - - . . " 

1643 Affinrs of France upon the accession of Lewis XIV. his character, and amlii- 

tious wars in Flanders, - - - - J 94 

1678 And triumphs at the peace of Nimeguen, - - - " 

CHAP. XXVIII. 



France continued — Enropt- generally — League. ofAugshurgh — Remar /v'.v 

A. D. 

1683 Lewis XIV. excites a war of the Turks against Austria, • - 105 

John So1>ieski, king of Poland, relieves Vienna, - . u 

Lewis concludes a peact- with Spain, and the enipei-or.and augments his fleets ' • 

The strength of Lewis fiills with the death of his minister Colbert, - ' - 

1685 Lewis revokes the edicts of Nantz, and gives up the Protestants to extermin- 

ation, ..... 10(j 

1686 They flee from Fi-ance, and ruin the manufacturing intei-est, - " 

1687 Lewis humbles Pope Innocent XI. and the Protestants form tlie Leaguue of 

Augsburg. — Remarks. .... 197 



CHAP. XXIX. 



England and Europe generally^ from the accession of James IL to the 

rise of the order of the Jesuits. 
A. D. . 

1685 James II. commences his reism under the most unfavorable impressions, and 

attempts the restoration of Poptrj', - - - 198 

1688 The nation resist, and invite Williarn. prince of Orange, son-ir-law to J.ames, 

to assume the eovenmient.— He sets sail fn m Hollmd with a strong arma- 
ment, is well i-cceive<l in England and Scotland. - - 195 

1689 James attempts to head an insuiTeclion of the Catholics in Ireland, fails and 



396 CONTENTS. 

A. D. Page. 

flees to France, and William becomes party in the League of Augsburg, 

and the reformation a^ain triumphs in England, - - 199 

Lewis puts forth all his enbrts, to resist the League of Augsburg ; takes the field 

in Flanders, at the head of a powerful army, and the war btcomes general, 200 
1697 Great display of talents, by Vauban, and the war closes by the peace of Rys- 

>\ick— Remarks, - - - . « 

CHAP. XXX. 

.Affairs of Europe generally'— nor them confederacy — capttire of Gibral- 

ter by the English. 
A.D, 

General remarks, - - - - 201 

16'38 Ihe Spanish succession, upon the declining health of Charles IL opens a new 
1699 Htld o/' ambition and intrigue, by secret partition treaties, - 202 

Tht grand confederacy of the north, opens a new drama, - " 

1701 Charles IL upon his death, confers his crown upon the young duke of Anjou 

—of the Bourbons, - - - - 203 

This produces the grand alliance, and Lewis XFV. supports his gi*andson, " 

1702 Uponwthe death of James II. Lewis XIV. supports the claims of his son, J 

James III. to the Ejiglish throne, - - ' " "TI 

William proclaims war, and dies— Queen Ann succeeds, and supports the war, " f 
Lord Godolphiu and the Earl of Marlborough take the helm of the cabinet 

and the field, - - - - - « 

1704 The war rages generally in the south, and Gibralter is taken by the English, " 
J706 The succcesses of the war unites England and Scotland, and presses Lewis to 

sue for peace, . - . . 204 

CHAP. XXXI. 



General affairs of Europe to the death of Le-wis XTF. and the suppres- 
sion of the insurrection in Scotland. — Remarks. 
A.D. 
1707 Lewis XIV. draw s bills on his mint, and prosecutes the war, which rages with 

various success until 1710, .... 205 

1710 Lewis again sues for p. ace, and obtains the conference of Gertruydenburg— 

this fails and the war rages, ... 206 

1711 Queen Ann changes htr ministi-y, and parties run high in England, a secret 

treaty the result in ctmsequence of the death oif the emperor Joseph of 
Germany, .... «« 

1713 The treaty of Utrecht signe<l Maich 31, ... 207 

1714 Treaty of Rastadt with the emperor, March 6, - - " 
The English parliament offer a bounty on the head of James III. - " 
Qiieen Ann dies, and is succeeded by George I. - - " 

1715 Lewis XIV. dies, and is succeeded by Lewis XV. and the duke of Orleans takes 

the regency, .... 208 

General conspiracy in England and Scotland, in favor of James III. the pre- 
tender, he lands' in Scotland, is defeated and flies to France, and George I. 
secures the throne, - - - - " 

General remarks, .... 209 



CHAP. XXXIL 



Europet from the commeyicement of the quadnifjie alliance, to the acces- 
sion of Francis I of Austria. 
A. D. 
1718 Quadruple alliance against Spain, - • - - 210 



0ONTENTS. 397 

A, D. Pasre ^ 

1719 Mississippi scheme in France, and South Sea scheme in England, - 2i0 

1723 Thi wir rages gent rally ui.til the .death of the duke of Orhatis opens the 

w ay for the peacv' of Seville. -._..« 

1727 George I. dies and is succewi^xl by iiis son, George II. ; Lewis XV. accetles 
to the thr jne of rauce, and obtain "tor Stanislaus Lecitzinski, ex-king of 
Poland, the dtichy of Lorrain, - - - . 211 

1739 "War between Engiitnd and Spain, which becomes a war of plunder on the 

water, --.-... « 

1744 Lord Anson takes a Spanish galleon of Chili, and conveys the treasures by 

way of Chiiia, to England, ----.« 

The deatJi of Charlts VI. of Austria opens the way for the confi-deraey 
against the e.upress MjriaTherc>.a, .... 212 

J 742 The elector of Bavaria is crowned king of Bohemia, and emperor of Ger- 
many, as Charlt s VII. - - - - . . «.- 

Ihe allies take Prague, and upon the treaty of Breslaw, make a masterly 
r. tr^at, ------- 215 

Spain pushes the war in Italy, and the French sue for peace, whicli is 
refused, ----...« 

.'744 This refusal kindles afresh the feuds in England, and tlie claims of the pre- 
teu'l -r are renewed, and his vast armaments for the invasion of England, 
bloc.iaded in France ; a genen.1 peace concluded in favor of Maria 
llieresa, and her husband the emperor Francis I. - - "' 



CHAP. XXXIII. 



Europe i from the accession of Oeor^e It to the confederacy ag'amst the 

king of Prussia, and ■war of 1756. 
A.D. 
1745 Charles III. son of James III. the preti nder, lands in Scotland without his 

armam-nt— lights the battle of Cuilodtn, and flees again to France, - 214 

Philip V. dies, and 13 suceet'dc-d by F rilinand VI. - - - 215 

[746 Prussia and Russia un'te with England in the war, - - »< 

1747 Russia unitrswith Austria and Saxony, to invade Prussia — War in Boliemia, 

and battle of Prague, - - - . - . , << 

1748 Tlie war rages generally, and is closed by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle— 

Remarks, - - - - . - - - 216 

L754 Collisions in North America open the scene for the seven years war, - 21S 

L755 T'.ie E.iglish commence deprc>dations upon French commerce, - '* 

1756 Franc.% Austria, Russia and Sweden unite against Prussia, and the French 

take .Minorca, - - - - . . a 

1757 England receives German troops to repel a French invasion, » - >•• 



CHAP. XXXIV. 



ISreneral affairs of the seven years -war in Europe, to the peace of Paris 
1763. 

A.D. 

This war raged generally with various success, and was closed in Europe, 
by the peace of 1763, leaving the parties in statu quo, - - 219 

1761 In the midst of this struggle, died George II. andf was succeeded by his 

gi-andson, Gejrge III, . - . . , 224 

Remarks, - . • " - - • . (i. 

George III. becomes popular by prosecuting the war, - - - a 

A congress assemble! at Augsharg to settle the on^liininarics of peace, and 

another negotiation open^ at London : but both faded, - . 22,t 



34 



39i3 eONTENTS. 

A. D. i'agc 
17.^2 The family compact of the Bourbons in the courts of France and Spain 

kindles the liamc afresh, - - - - - 225 
1763 The successes of England in the East and West Indies, force the peace of 

Paris, and the peace of Hubertsburg, - . . . 226 

Remarks, ----..- " 

1713 The bull Uuigentus &c. - - - - - - 227 

1756 LLwis XV. &c. - - " 

Character of the age, .-.-. . .a 

CHAP. XXXV. 

Discovery and settlemejit of ■N'orth Jlmerica. 
A. D. 
I492 to 18 12 Chronological summary of the discovei^y and settlement of America 

—and remarks, - - - - - - 229 to 235 

1755 Causes that led to the old French war, .... 237 

CHAP. XXXVL 

General operations of the seven years -tvar iii AmericUy to the peace of 
1763 — ivith some remarks. 

A. D. 

Causesthatled to the old French war, continued, ... 237 

Coniinencenient of operations on the Ohio, and Monongahela, - " 

1756 War coinmencts by a naval action in the gulf of St. Lawrence, - - 238 

1757 General Braddock's defeat at ibrt Duquesne, ... " 
The French t:ike Oswego, .... . - 239 
And fort WiJham Henry, .... . « 

1758 Louisburg taken.— Frontenac fort taken, .... 240 

CHAP. XXXVI. CONTINUED. 

1759 The French abandon Duquesne.— Expedition by land and sea against 

Canada, - - - - - - - 240 

ns) Quebec taken, and the gallant Wolfe, and the French general Montcahn 

both slain. ...... 241 

Re i narks, -- - - - - .« 

1760 The French under De Levi attempt to recover Quebec, - - 243 
Montreal. Canada, and all Frencli America fall this year, and all further 

operations, in America, cease.— Remarks, .... 244 

CHAP. XXXYII. 

Causes ivhich led to the American revolution — General events to the 
invasion of JVexo-York. 

A. D. 

Remarks, ....... 24« 

Cln-onological summary, ..... « 

1775 War coimnences.— Battle of Lexington.— Remarks, ... 246 
Boston besieged, and Ticonderogu taken, - - - 247 
General Congress at Fliiladelphia.— General Washington appointed com- 
mander in chief, and the British invested in Boston. — Congress publish 

tlieir Manifesto, and prepare seriously for action, - . . « 

Battle of Bimker-Hill and destruction of Charlestowii.— Expedition by way 
of Kennebec, to Quebec— Gen. Howe succeeds general Gage.— Falmouth 
burnt— Exptdition to Canada under general Montgomery.— The united 
forces of Montp;o7ner}' and Arnold commence an assault upon Quebec, 
and fail.— Mortfijomery kilk-d, ..... 249 

1776 General W:\shington fortifies the heights of Dorchester, which occasions 

general Howr to evncouti Boston— (ieneral Washirgfon withdraws from 
Boston to New-Yorjkj SAd meets general Howe on Lbng-Islaud; - , ' 



CONTENTS. 3^9 

CHAP. XXXVIII. 

devolution contimied to the capture of general Prescoif at Rhode-Isl- 
and, September 1777. 

A. D. Page 

J 776 The British burn Norfolk, Vir.— British expedition to South Carolina fails- 
Lord Howe arrives at ^ew-York with a commission to settle a general or 
separate peace with the Colonies, - - - 256 

Genei'al Washington loses the action of Flatbush , and retreats oft" of Long 
Island, retires from New-York, and invests the city.— General Howt dislodges 
general ^'•^asl^ington, from his position, gains the action of White Plains, 
and takes the forts, at Harlem and Kmgshridge.— General Washington, re- 
tiretl into New-Jersey, general Howe pursiies, general Washington, retires 
in distress by forced marches, and crosses the Dehvare at Trenton, - 25i 

Recrosses on the night of the 25th of December, and gains the battle of 

Trenton, ----- 252 

General and extensive powers given to general Washington by Congress, and 
the cause revives from deep despair, - - - " 

1777 General Wasliington continues offensive operations, and drives the Britisli out 
of New-Jersey, into? New -York— Sir Guy Carlton, and general Bui-goyne 
di-ive the Americans out of Canada— General Howe, in person, attempts to 
snrprise general Washington, in his camp, but fails— Governor Tryon, by 
a sudden expedition, burns the American stores at Danbiiry — Gen. Howe 
embarks an army from New- York, upon a secret expedition- Colonel Bar- 
ton, with a party of militia, surprises General Prescott and his aid, on 
Hhode-Island, and secures their prisoners, - - - 25" 



CHAP. XXXIX, 



Itevolution continued, from the expedition of general llotve to Philadel- 

phitty Sept. 1777, to the battle of Camden in J\^orth Carolina. 
A.D. 

1777 General Howe enters Chesapeake Bay, and lands at Elk ferry— General 

Washington advances to meet him — Battles of Chad's-ford and Gennan- 
town— Capture of Philadelphia— distresses of the Amercan army, they 
invest general Howe in Philadelphia, ... 254 

General Burgoyne,talven with all his anny, - - 255 

1778 France and Spain, engage in the war— Sir Heni'y Clinton, evacuates Phila- 

delphia—General Washington pursues him into New-Jersey— gains the 
battle of Monmouth— general Lee is cashiered, - - " 

Sir Henry regains New- York by forced marches — A French fleet ariive on the 

coast— battle off" Rhode-Island- Anoth.er French fleet arriv< on the coast of 

South Cai-olina, co-operate \Aith general Lincoln against the British at 

Savannah, fail and withdraw, ... 256 

1730 Sir Henry Clinton, w ith Lord Cornwallis, commence their southern expedition, 

and take Charleston S. C. March 4, - - - 257 

General Gr: en dctachetl upon the soutliern command — ?>rarqiiis I-a Fayette 
returns from France, with good tidings — Lord Coinwallis subdues Sotith 
Carolina— Sir Henry Clinton returns to New- York, - - " 

Congress vedt em 200,000,000 dollars of }>aper money— Lord Cornwallis pro- 
cetds to Ca)m!en, in South Carolina, fights general Gates, and destroys his 



CHAP. XL. 



Bevolution contiiiuedto the capture of Lord Corn-wallis at Yorktown, 

October, 1781. 
A.D. 
37SO General Green succeeds general Gates i« the southern command, - 259 



■iiJi) OONTEMTS. 

A. D. Page 

'IheAvliole Peunsylvajiia line v'^olt, under general Wasbingtoji, - ' 35^ 

Jan. Tfeey arerecovei.il .. tht;. (iiU3, - - - 260 

i781 Thewar ragtsin the touth— bait»i of" the Cov.pens, • - . « 

Batxleof Guilford— Gtaerai Grtt . returns to North Carolina, fights lord 

Rawdon at Camden, and dv.«i.>.irj, ci the cause, - - 261 

General Green carries the war j-to Su. ah Carolina, - " 

Lord Connvallis advances into Tiigiiiii^. vheve he is opposed by Marquis La 
i^ayette, general Wayne, and baron Steuben— A French lieet arrives at 
Newport R. I.— Council of w.'ir.'t Ha c rd, Conunecticut, - 2^' 

Arnold's conspiracy at Wtst-Poii;<;~-Cap- ..re and ex':cuticn of Major Andre 
—Siege of New-York— French lit it is rtu tL-cetl at Newport from France, 
and put to sea ; meets the Enghsh fleet c: c'le jnoe.th of the Cliesapeake, 
gains an action, and invests lord Coriivvah; -.t York town— Geiicral Wash- 
ijigton at the same rime proceeds by iand, a;.y invests the British at York- 
town. - - - - - « 
!"• It Lord Cornwalljs with all his army taken, Oct. 20ti., - - 264 



CHAP, XLI. 



(y(in«ral affairs of America, to the adoption and organization of tfu 
Federal Lonstiivtion, JVIardi, 1789^ — Jieniarks. 

A. D. 

1781 Religious gratitude of the American army and nation, upon the capture of 

Yorktown, - ._ - - 264 

'i hi- French fleet retire to the West Indies— All the South is iccovered ex- 
eepiing Charleston — Desperate iiaval action in the West hidies— Charleston 
evacnattd, and negociations oj.ned at Paris for peace, - - 265 

Geireral mutiny in the aimy of 'vvmeral Washington— is quelled, - 260 

1782 Peace is announced by a letter frotji the marquis la Fayette— I he British 

evuci.ai'.' NeW'York, _ _ - - - - " 

Gen.i"'! Washington exliibits liii accounts to Congress- Resigns. 267 

1.783 IIh cojifcdi ration proves uisiilf:ekiitjij lime of peace— A general convention 

fran»< and recommend, the t. vicral con^titnt.on — The several stilts ado]>t it, 268 
";739 I-lis E>telkiicy gentral Washington, choseii president— The honorable John 

Adams vice-president— General good efltcts— Remarks, - • " 



CHAP. XLII. 



.Iffairs 0^ America continued— ivar nvith France'— peace — xoar with Eng- 
land—peace — War 7cith the JBurbary potvtrs— ge7ieral peace, 1815 — 
general remarks. 
A. D. 

1780 F'c'eral compact, and French revolution, . - - 269 

17Q9.War wiih Fnuice— Puic-. - - ' - " 

1813 "War with England— gem ral ojlt-ratjons, particularly at sea, - 270 

1813 General Harrison retakes Detroit, and enters Canada victorious— Coiranodore 

Perry captures the whole British fleet upon Lake Erie, - 272 

Genaal Harrison triumphs o'.er General Proctoi-— C omniodore Chauncey 
\'!Ctorious on Lake Ontario, - - - " 

1814 The British take Washington. &c.— Commodore Macdonough victorious at 

Platf-buvg, . - . - " 

IS 15 General Jackson defeats the British at New-Orlear^— Peace witli England, 
4th of Februarj— America declares war against Algiers, and forces a sub- 
missive pt>ace in four months, » . •> 274 
General remarks, . - ., ^ '^ 



;0N1 KK'i'6. 



40] 



PART TllIilD. 
CHAP. I. 

Causes that led to the French revolution— causes that led to the great 
events xvhich controled it — northern confederationagainst ^'hveden — rtve 
of Peter I.— rise of Charles XII. — character of Sweden, Jhissia, I)t:i- 
mark and Poland — invasion of Dcrmiark, a?id peace— siege of J^'crva 
— battle of JVarva — battle of the D-ioina— intrigues of Charles XII- in 
Poland — character of the Polish natio7i and government — intrigues of 
the arch bishop of Gresna — Distracted state of Poland. 

A.D. P"Sf^ 

1789 The reformation, in the midst of triumph, is called to endure new trinls— 

General effects of infidelity, .... - 27fi 

1697 Peter I. visits the south of Fm-ope.— Northern confederacy, - 2'^8 

1700 Chai-acter of the northern po\\'ers, ... - 279 
Charles XII, invades Denmark, and forces a peace, - - 2o'"> 
Pjisses into Livonia, and gains the battle of Narva. - - "'^^'- 
Augustus raises the siege of Riga, ... - S;o- 

1701 Charles XII. and general Stenaee, fight the battle of the Dwina, - '" 
Cliiiracter of the repishlic of Poland, ... • • 2S4 

1702 General diet of Poland, - - - - - ^^i 

CHAP. II. 

^^ugustus attempts a secret peace tvith Charles XII. — battle of Cracow- 
battle of the bog — war in Polish Prussia — intrigties of the primate- — 
Augustus deposed— Stanishnis Leckzinski elected IHng-^capture of 
Leopold — coronation of Stanislaus. 

A.D. 

1702 The diet dissolve— Charles XII. evades overtures for peace from Augustus, 

and enters Warsaw, ..... 2?6 

Charles routs Augustus at the battle of Cracow, - - - SSS 

1703 Again at the rivt r Bog— carries the war into Polish Prussia, and levies 

heavy contributions upon the chief t;>wns, ... 283 

1704 Deposes Augustus, and causes Stanislaus to beclected king of Polam^ - 289 

1705 Parties become moi-e violent, - - - - " 
Charles causes Stanislaus and and his queen, to \)c crovmed at Leopold, - 2Q0 

CHAP. III. 

Rednctio7i of JN'artm, by Peter I. — Peter commences the city, of Peters- 
burg — Charles XII. enters Saxom/'— -peace w/th Augustus — distresses 
of Poland — Charles XII. commences his inarch into Rw.na — battle of 
the Berezina. 

A.D. 

1704 Peter I. lays the foundation of Petersburg, - - - 2)1 

1705 Distresses of Poland, continued. - - - - 2')T, 

1706 Charles enters Saxony, forces Augustus to a peace, le\ies ejiormous ciun- 

butions, ---.-. 

1707 Charks r mains in Saxony, and the distresses of Pol.uitl condnui - 

of Marlborough visits Charl's XII. .... 
' 708 Charles drives the Russians out of Poland, and contmenees his Uiareh for 

Moscow, - - - - - -2TJ' 

Gains the battles of Boristhenes and Morass, commences v. treaty wi(h 
Mazeppa, - - - - - -' 

34* 



40£ CONTENTS. 

A. D. ' Page 

1709 Passes the winter in the Ukrain, and loses liis supplies irom Sweden iindtr 

geniral (.rvtuhaupt, - - - - - 296 

Clitirlts commc'iices the sit ge ofPulto\va,in May, and is \A'ounded— is defeat- 
ed by the Czar, in July, and flies into Tiirkty. - - 297 
Pettr I. prostctites the building of Peiersburg, recovers Poland, and restores 
Augustus to liis crown— Charles intrigues vith the Sublinje Porte, - 298 

CHAP. ly. 

Peter I. enters JMoscoiv in triumph — tvar beticeeti Turkey and Hussia— 
perilous escape of Peter I.— peace — inirigues of Charles XII — battle 
of Bender — ivar rages in the S-cvedish provi7ices of Germany. 

1710 Peter's triumphant entry of INIoscow, - . - .299 

1711 The Vizier declares war against Russia, ... 300 
Perilous escape 01 Peter— peace, - ... 301 

:7l2 Intrigues of Charles continued— Battle of Bender, - - 302 

1713 War rages with violence in the Swedish jnovinces, - - . « 

CHAP. V. 

Charles XII. returns to Siveden— defence of Strcdsimd— naval operations 
upon the Baltic — Peter I. entet-s Petersburg in triiimph—fall of Stral- 
sund. 

A. D. 

1714 Charles XII. lea^ es Turkey on his return to Swfdtn, - - - 303 
Peter gains a signal naral victory, and enters the port of Petersburg in 

triumph, - - - - - - 304 

1715 The enemies of Charles invade his dominions, - - - " 
Charles attempts the defence of Stralsund, and fr.ils—hattle of the Island of 

Uugen, - . - - - 306 

'716 Stralsund surrendered, . . - - . 307 

CHAP. VT. 

Invasion of JVor-zoay— Baron De Gortz— death of Charles X II— peace — 
character of Peter I. and Charles Xll.—immediate ca^ises of the 
French revolution. 
A. D. 

CharlesXII. invades Norway, and foils— Peter I. again visits France and 

Holland— Barron De Gortz turns the war, of the north into intrigue, 308 

i717 Charles XII. again invades Norway, and is killed before Frederishall, •' 

;718 The prince «.'f Hesse leads bi-.ek the aniiy to Sweden— peact with Denmark 
ensues— De Gortz is executed— Ulrica Eleonora is eltcted queen, and 
confers the crown upon her husband, the prince of Hesse, - - 309 

1721 Peace between Swtdtn and I? lis ia, , - - - " 

Remarks upon Charles and Peter, and upon the causes of the French revo- 
lution, • - - - - - 310 

CHAP. VII. 

Jansenists and Jesuits — assembly of the states-general — revolution opened 
^ Paris becomes one great tnob — the king a cypher— fight of the king 
— convention formed — new constitution. 

A.D. 

1774 St.ite of France, at the accession of Lewis XVI. • . - - 311 

quarrel of the Jansenists and Jesuits eomiaued, - - " 



CONTENTS. 403 

A. D. Page 

1789 Revolution oommences, Avitli the destruction of the Bastile, - 312 

1790 Tlie national asseiiibly assume the goveiiunem, and tht king is conducted 

from Versailles to Paris, by 60,000 men, lodged in his palace, and held under 

duress, - - - - - 313 

1791 The emigrants assemble in arms, on the frontier, and threaten an invasion, 

which excites violence, and general alarm, - - 314 

New constitution is finished, - - - - 315 



CHAP. yiii. 



Lewis XVI. signs the new constitution — chibs of the Fenillans and Jaco- 
bins — decrees of the JVational Jissembly— treaty of Vienna — Viots in 
Pans — coalition — dnke of Brimsxvich— fight of the king. 
A. D. 
1792 S])eech of Le\\is XVI. Avhen he sigTis the constitution— gent ral festivity of 

Paris, - - - - - 316 

New legislative assembly— the Jacobin club arise upon the ruins of Feuillans, 31 7 
Condorcet's manifesto— Convention between the kings of Prussia and Bohe- 
mia. - - - - - 318 
Organization of the revolutionary tribunal— Invention of the guillotine, 319 
New poUtical logic, " the end justifies tht iiitans,"— great mob of Paris, 

June 20, - - - - . tt 

Duke of Brunswick takes the field against France, which causes the deposi- 
tion of the king, - • - . (c 



CHAP. IX. 



Mob of the 10th of ^'iugnst — bold measures of the assembly — Doumourier 
— La Fayette — massacres-^J^fational Corizention — trial of Leiuis XVL 
— condemnation. 
A. D. 
1792 Twenty-five thousand falVin the massacre of the 10th of August— Decree of 

the assembly, for the call of a convention, - - 32© 

The king and royal family confined in the Temple— Marquis La Fayette de- 
nounced. Hies, and imprisoned in Olmutz— The Old quarrel of Jansenist 
and Jesuits breaks out in the memorable mob of Paris Sept. 2, - 321 

Massacre at Orleans — Gennanj' declares war against France, - 322 

The Conveiition conmiences their sitting, and appoints a committee to frame a 
new constitution, - - - . 333 

Tan. 1793 They call Lewis XVI. to their bar, try and condemn him, - « 



CHAP. X. 



Execution of Lewis XVI. — violence of the Convention — Charlotte Corde 
— trial and execution of the Queen — triumphs of Philosophy. 

.'793 Horrors of the awful 21st of January, - - . 325 

Execution of the king — asssassination of La Pallitiere, - « 

Assassinaiion of Marat, by Charlotte Corde— Arrest, trial and condemnation 

of the queen, - - . - . 326 

Exicutiou of the queen, February 16, - - 327 

Th( schools of the J( suits and Philosophers, nniie in the Jocobin club, and 
b^conif the instrunent o' thiir own ruin— General distn ss of the nation, 
particularly in La Vendee— The convention decree, " no God and death an 
eternal sleep." - - - - 328 



404 CONTENTS, 

CHAP. XL 

Insurrection in La Vendee'— fall of Robespierre — grand armistice of La 
Vendee — Jacobin msitr ection — death of Lexois, son of the king — new 
constitution — i evolution in Holland. 

A. D. , Page 

1794 War coiitinnes to' rage in La Vendee— Triumph of philosophy, - 329 
Carritr's report on tlie Veiideean War— Fall of Robespierre and Tinville, 330 
Rhapsody of Gtraud, - - - - " 

1795 Armistice in La Vendee, and report of Carnot, - - 331 
Horrors of Paris and of the convtntion, - - . " 
New constitution and murdtr of the dauphin, - - 332 

1796 'I'he princess Ivlaria Autonielte sent to Vienna, - - " 
Grand revolution in Hciland, - - - " 

CHAP. XII. 

State of France — movement of the armies — J\''apoIeon Bonaparte — peace 

rvith Spai?i — conquests in Italy — jyiilan. 
A. D. 

R< capitulation, - ... 333 

1794 Conquest of Belgium, nnder general Dumourier, - - 334 
Hi levies contributions, rifles their churches; which raise insuiTCCtions, and 

lose the conquests, - - - - " 

1795 General Pichegru succeeds Diunourier, and subdues Holland, - " 

1796 General Moi-eau succeeds Pichegru, and uivades Germany, - 335 
View of the plan of the campaign, - - - " 
Napolean Bonaparte— becomes general in chief of the army of Italy— invades 

Spain, and forces a peace, - - - - " 

Invades Italy— gains the battles of Montenotte and Millesimo, - 336 

His address to the cities of Milan and Pavia, - - " 

CHAP. XIII. 

Battle of CastfgUone— bridge of Lodi— panic of the 400— siege of Man- 
tua— campaign of the Rhn^, Mense and Moselle— victories (Jf prince 
Charles- fall of Kehl-of Mantua. 

A. D. 

1796 Action of Castiglione, and affair of Lodi, - - 337 
Siege of Mantua. - - - - 338 
Successes of general Bonaparte over three successive armies, sent to the re- 
lief of Mantua— England sends lord Malmsbury to Paris, to jnegociate for 

a peace — which fails, ... « 

Mantua is closely invested, ... - 330 

Gem rals Moreau and Joiirdan penetrate into Bavaria in triumph, over piince 

Charles, which calls forth a proclamation of tbt emperor of Germany, " 

Actions of Donawert and Nordingen compel prince Charles to cross the Dan* 

iibe, - - - - .340 

General Moreau penetrates into the heart of Bavaria ; but the successes of 
prince Charles over general Jourdon, oblige them both to retire out of Ger- 
many, and recross the Rhine with a severe loss, - - " 

1797 The French sustain a siege in the fortress of Kehl forty days, and at last 

sun-< nder to princ ■ Charles by assault, - - 347 

Mantua surrenders to general bonaparle the same day, - - '* 

CHAP. XIV. 

Submission of the pope — triumphs of the campaign— treaty of Campo For- 
mio—armament of Toulon— capture of Malta-^battle of the J^ile—con- 



CONTENTS. 403 

quesi of Egypt — defeat at Acre^-ger.eral Bonaparte returns to Egvpt 

— to France — nexo coalition. 

A. D. Page 

1797 Campaign closes, - - . - - - • 341 

The Pope becomes submissive, .... '< 

■ General Bonaparte triumphs over prince Charles in the mountains of the 

TjTol, and the emperor sues for peace, - - - - 342 

Feb. 19. The peace of Campo Formic closes the war, and liberates the marquis 

La Fayette from Ohimtz— Successes of the war, - - " 

1793 The popularity of Bonaparte causes the armament at Toulon, and expedi- 
tion to Egypt, - . ♦ - - - « 
Battle of Aboukir, - - ... 343 
Capture of Alexandria, and conquest of Egjpt,— invasion of Syria, and 
deftat at Acre, . , - - . 344 
1799 General Bonaparte returns to Egypt— from tlience to France ; there learns 

the distresses arising from the new coalition, * - 345 

CHAP. XY. 

General Surwarrorv enters Italy — battle of Sivitzerland'— invasion of Hol- 
land— general Bonaparte first consul— battle of Marengo — xnftmal 
7nachine — northern a med neutrality — peace of Ltineville — -war betioeen 
Spain and Portugal — battle of Copenhagen. 

A. D. 

1799 The war is renewed generally, in Germany and Italy -Surwarrow is trium- 
l>hant, liuti! his overthrow in Switzerland by Masstna, which proves his 
ruin, ..-.-.. 346 

The duke of York invades Holland, is unsuccessful, and signs a convention 
to save his army, ..... <' 

General Bonaparte, by a involution establishes a consular government, and 
becomes first consul' for t^n years— gains the battle of Marengo and recov- 
ers Italy, - - - - - ^ - - 347 
• ^00 This with the successes in Germany causes the peace of Paris, July, - 348 

Northern armed neutrality', - •• - - - - '* 

1801 The French push the war, until the general peace of Luneville, Jan. 28, " 
The English invade Eg) pt, under lord Keith, - - - « 
Egypt subdued, and universal peace ensues. Oct.— A general embargo 

upon the powers of the northern cor.fv.deracy, by England, produces a 
rupture with Denmark, which closes with the battle of Copenhagenj - 349 

Russia declares war against France, = « . . « 

CHAP. XVI. 

Revolution in St. JDomingo — character of the black chiefs — conquest of 
Hanover—first consul chosen foi life — made empero uf Fiance — ^ius- 
trian rvar— fall of Vienna — battle of Avsterlitz — peace iviih Austria — 
Ttvar between England and Spain. 

A.D. 

1802 The universal peace opens the way for the consul o^ France, to send the 

army of Egjpt out to St. Domingo, uiidi-r giueral Le Ck re, to subtlue the 

excesses o*" liberty and t quality among the blncks. - - 350 

' This expedition fails and tstablishes the kingdom of Hayti, - - " 

Character of til. blpck chiefs and government, ... " 

First Consul mad. Coi^sulfr life— cor.trcids the press, - - " 

Anecdof" of the marquis La Favftti, ... 351 

1803 England declares war against Franc-, ard the Frencli lake Hanover, - " 
l8M First Constil made emperor, by a subscriptive vote. - - " 
1805 Austria streiigtheifs ht r position at Ubn, and joins a new confederacy against 

Fra ,c-. - - - - - - . "- 

Th*^ emperor Napoleon, by a sudden movement, appt ars befiire Ulm, de- 
feats f?-neral Mac : appears be fore Vienna, tak' s it ; appears in Moravia ; 
-.ajiic ti,P battle of Austerlitz, ovtv the emperor of R>^ '« ; «.?M^<; a peace, 352 



406 CONTENTS. 

A D. Page 

returns in triumph to France ; again threatens England, and revolution- 
izes Holland, - - - ' - - 353 

CHAP. XVII. 

Emperor Kapoleon, on the throne of Charlemagne — battle of Trafalgar — 
confederation of the Rhine— P russian war— battle of Jena — ofEylau 
— of Friedlaad — peace of Tilsit — Berlin decree — treaty of Fontain- 
bleau — Bayonne decree— fall of Charles 1 V, and Ferdinand VII» — 
capture of Madrid. 

A. D. 

May 1. The emperor Napoleon crowned king of Italy and becomes the regular 

succtssor of Charlemagne, ..... 354 

Oct. 2 1. Battle of Trafalgar, ..... « 

1806 Confederation of the Rhine closes.— New coalition of England, Russia, and 

Prussia against France, ..... 355 
The emperor Napoleon advances into Germany, and gains the battles of 

Jena, Eylau and Friedland. . . . . . 356 

1807 Dictates the peace of Tilsit, and passes his Berlin decree, - - " 

Followed by the embargo in America, • - - - 357 

1808 Intrigues with Spain for the reduction of Portugal, seizes on ilie crown of 

Spain, and places it upon his brother Joseph, ... S58 

CHAP. XVIII. 

Spanish Junta declare war — Joieph Bonaparte king of Spain— fall of 
general Dupont — conquest of Rome — kingdom of Holland — conference 
at Erfurth— battle of Corunna — Auatrianwar— battle of Ratisbon — 
fall of Vienna — battle of Lobau — of Wagrarn — peace icilh A ustria-^ 
invasion of Holland by the English. 
A. D. 

Massacre at Madrid— French and Spaniards enter Lisbon, and the royal 
family retire-to Brazil— General Dupont is talicn, witli his whole army ; 
which occasions king Joseph to quit Madrid— The emperor Napoleon 
erects Holland into a kingdom, places his brother Louis on the throne- 
Meets the emperor Alexander at Erf ui-th, ... 359 
RepairstoSpain, and gains the battle of Corrunna, - - 360 
!809 War commences between Austria and France, - - - " 
The emperor Napoleon, by rapid movements, gains the battle of Ratisbon, 
over prince Charles ; takes Vienna, loses the battle of Lobau, gains the 
battle of Wa3;ram,and pursues the prince to Presburg, - - 361 
Vov. 8. Returns to Vienna, and dictates a peace to the emperor of Austria— The 

English take the island of Walcheren in Holland, « - 362 

CHAP. XIX. 

The imperial con ti7ienfal system — divorce of the empress Josephine, and 
rnamage of Maria L-misa qfAmirin — war u^ilh Spain— war in Tur- 
key — war in Portugal— birth of the imperial hdr of France — prepar- 
ation's for the Russian war — America, 
A. D. 

1800 The emperor Napoleon vctm-ns to France, and presses his continental system, 362 

IS.10 Divorces his wife Josephine, and marries the arch duchess, Maria Lotiisa of 

Austria, - - . . . . - 363 

Prepares for the Russian war, by secret treaties with Austria and Prussia- 
sends general Massena, with 70,000 men, to snlxlue Portugal— War rages 
in Spain and Portugal, with various success— A mount of the emperor Na- 
poleon's force— Causes of the support of the English funds. - > '• 



CONTENTS. 40i 



A. D. Page 

An imperial heir born to Napoleon— Intrigues of Poland— Union of Holland 

with France, ----- 364 

1811-12 War rages in Spain and Portugal, with various success, - 365 

The whole christian world, both m Europe and Aiaerica, becomes one great 

theatre of intrigue, and America joins the coalition against Russia, by a 

Avar with England, . . . . 377 

CHAP. XX. 

Commencement of the Russian war — American war — movements in the 
Rassiari war — battle of Smolensk — of Borodino— fall and dislrucUon 
of Moscow. 

The emperor Napolean assembles his army, in Poland, for the Russian war, 367 
Convention between Russia and England— Movements of the armies— Battle 

of Smolensk, .... <« 

Battle of Borodino, - - - - 368 

Capture and destruction of Moscow - . - 369 

CHAP. XXI. 

Character of the Russians — overtures of peace— Jirmness of the emperor 
Alexander — vieivs of J\'apoleon — retreat of the French— flight ofJVa- 
poiton — destruction of the French army — the emperor JVapoleon in 
Paris — again in Saxony^ at the head of his new army — battle ofLeip- 
sic — JVapdkon in Pans — successes of Lord Wellington — restoration 
of the family of Bourbon — JVapoleon at Elba — Lord Wellington in 
Pans — JSTapoleon in Paris — battle of Water loo-^JY up oleon in Eng- 
land — at St. Helena — Lewis XVIll. again in Pans — Lord Welling- 
ton again in Paris — the empress Maria Louisa^ with her little son 
at Milan. 

A. D 

1812 The emperor Napoleon makes overtures of peace in Moscow, which the em- 

peror Alexander rejects, .... 370 

The emperor Napoleon begins his retreat— Deserts his army at Krasnoy, and 
flies to Paris ; and his army is ruined, - - - 371 

1813 Assembles a new army, and repairs to Saxony — Meets the allies of Russia, 

Austria, Sweden and Crussia—Figlits the battle of Leipsic, - 372 

And flies into France— I'he allies pursue, enter France, to co-operate with 
Lord Wellington, who had driven the French out of Spain, in the siege of 
Paris— They take Napoleon, and banish him to Elba— In six months he is 
again in Paris, at the head of the government— Fights the battk of Water- 
loo, flies into France, resigns his crown, delivers himself up to the captaiti 
of an English frigate, is conveyed to England, sent to St. Helena for life, 
and Lewis XVIlI. restorrd to his throne, protected by lord Wellington.— 
The empress Maria Louisa in Milan, with her son. - - 373 to 374 



THE END. 



^^::sn 



Bindery 
1904 



